In this week’s Wednesday Comics column, we are enlisting in Operation – Iron Coffin, making some deliveries with Dispatched, stopping by Witness Point, and much more! Plus, The Prog Report!
Operation – Iron Coffin #1
Operation – Iron Coffin #1Writer: Kenny Porter
Artist: Tyrell Cannon
Letterer: Shawn Lee
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Review By Zack Quaintance
Operation: Iron Coffin is a comic in which Dracula teams up with the British during WWII to fight Nazis. And if Nazis and Dracula weren’t enough, Dracula is also battling his way through a Nazi horror experiment train so that he can escape being sent to hell. Do I even need to go on, or have you put down your phone, laptop, or tablet, and rushed off (leaving a dust cartoon outline) to pre-order this one?
My point being, that I’ve now read an advance of this first issue, and I think it’s safe to say that if you like the sound of this comic, you’re going to love what you find inside of this comic.
It’s a madlib of a plot, to be sure, but there’s something about the pulp elements involved that when combined just works. It’s also a story pitch that you hear over a convention table or at a hotel bar, chuckle, and say, awesome, pretty much reflexively. And the execution of this comic on the page is such that the whole thing ultimately feels like a B Movie you saw late at night at a friend’s house as a kid — which is the exact right way to execute this sort of thing.
Artist Tyrell Cannon is clearly having a lot of fun with it, too. There are whole pages in this book without captioning or dialogue — but with SFX that range from ARGH! to SPLURCH — in which Dracula dismembers Nazi soldiers as they pointlessly fire machine guns at his head. On those pages, writer Kenny Porter wisely writes a script that knows exactly when to sit back and, as they say, let the artist cook. This first issue even sends Dracula to hell for a quick minute, where it’s even gorier and the imagery can really cut loose. Great choices all around, with the visuals.
Thematically, the book does some work around redemption arcs, as well as what makes a true monster, but let’s be real, a desire for a story with poignant character work is not why you’re here reading about Operation: Iron Coffin. You are here because the comic has Nazis fighting Dracula. And I am here to tell you that it is awesome, and you want to buy a ticket and take the ride with this excellently ridiculous book.
Witness Point #1
Witness Point #1Writer: Heath Corson
Co-creator: Nathan Fillion
Artist and Colorist: Soo Lee
Letterer: Joshua Reed
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Review by Ricardo Serrano Denis
The best crime stories find ways to alter well-trodden ideas just enough to separate themselves from the rest. It’s a crowded field, so twists on the formula (either nuanced or radical) are key to success, to telling a story worth remembering. It’s what makes every new Criminal comic so hotly anticipated. Brubaker and Phillips know how to manipulate small details just enough to open new avenues into crime fiction. Ed Brisson’s The Violent is another great example, which focuses on ex-cons trying to raise their daughter in one of the most crime-ridden parts of Portland.
Heath Corson, actor Nathan Fillion (who co-created the concept), and Soo Lee attempt to give their crime comic Witness Point a fresh spin on violence and murder. Unfortunately, it feels like the end result, as far as issue #1 is concerned, goes down roads that feel too familiar for its own good.
Witness Point follows Sheriff Kite Calhoon and Deputy Marshall Priya Khabrani as they attempt to solve the murder of a man who was found with his head and hands cut off. It’s a grisly scene that points to a very personal and rage-filled kind of killing. But what makes this case much more complicated than it initially seems is its location: Baraboo, Wisconsin, known to some as Witness Point.
This place houses criminal informants under the witness protection program. If ever there was a place that had a well-established blanket motive for murder, this would be it.
Corson’s script is quick to drive this point home, offering a whole town’s worth of suspects in the process. The setting is presented well, with a lot of worldbuilding done in the first few pages alone. There’s a sense that the town could be heading towards a bloody reckoning should Kite and Priya not arrest the responsible party quickly. The writing carries that sense of urgency through with ease.
Soo Lee’s art, the star of the show, builds on the particulars of Baraboo with great character design and an eye for environmental detail. The shots we get of the town can look deceptively colorful and idyllic, perfect for hiding secrets. It all works to establish an unsteady peace that, once we’re made aware of its population, can swiftly break down if but one or two pieces are removed from the board.
The problem with the story lies in its whimsical and safe dialogue, which extends to its tone. Witness Point feels like a series that is tailor-made to be adapted for CW. Jokes land a bit flat and character exchanges don’t entirely take advantage of the town’s unique identity. It very quickly devolves into a been-there-done-that affair that struggles to keep the spotlight on the ideas that could make it stand out.
There’s an attempt at quirkiness, too, regarding some of the town’s history and factions that simply detracts from the experience. There’s a circus element that’s alluded to that feels forced. It looks like it wants to channel Twin Peaks a bit, but in an unserious manner. It doesn’t come off right. Maybe subsequent issues will build on it more successfully.
Witness Point has a few things going for it that, if better developed in future issues, could take the series in a different direction. As it stands, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Soo Lee’s art does elevate the read. It just needs a story worthy it.
Dispatched #1
Dispatched #1Writer: B. Clay Moore
Artist: Daniel Gete
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: AndWorld Design
Publisher: Ignition Press
Review by Khalid Johnson
This first issue of Dispatched is something special, a compelling read that gives a deep internal look at our main character, Ben. Written by B. Clay Moore with art by Daniel Gete, colors by Lee Loughridge and letters by Andworld Design, the presentation is excellent, the pacing works, the dialogue is sharp and the art is captivating.
Ben is former military and now he makes deliveries. Our introduction to him and his work is wild and only provides deeper insight into his psychology. That same insight, I think really highlights the ugly and brutal nature of imperialism and the violence committed abroad for our “freedom.” Ben has violent thoughts and impulses and as a character study, this man is not well. Haunted by histories of violence, how does a person come back and find rehabilitation?
While Ben feels real, part of the beauty is that he’s a character, trapped on the page. There are people in reality who come back maladjusted, who have committed atrocities. There are people allowed to sign up for armed forces who are looking to commit violence with impunity. Laxed standards and a white supremacist government and colonial history and empire has long provided the permission. I can’t stress enough how solid Ben’s characterization is, how well the art elevates the writing. When Ben kills here, his eyes just look cold, unfeeling.
Those details make him that much more compelling on the page. There is a lot that we don’t know yet about Ben, the mystery of his service. Was he a man “just following orders” or was his violence in defiance of those orders? I am looking forward to diving deeper into this character as he finds himself trapped and this creative team has laid the foundation for a thrilling story.
Exquisite Corpses: Rascal Randy #1
Exquisite Corpses: Rascal Randy #1Writer: Tyler Boss
Artist: Dylan Burnett
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Becca Carey
Publisher: Image Comics – Tiny Onion
Review By Zack Quaintance
If you enjoyed the first season of Exquisite Corpses as much as I did (especially the finale), you’re likely wondering how long you’ll have to wait for more. Well, the answer is until July, which is when the spinoff series — Exquisite Corpses: Rascal Randy — launches.
The book is an origin story for one of the series most memorable killers, second in my opinion to only the Fox Mask Killer. Although, Rascal Randy in the main series proper gets arguably less time to shine, which I think is one of the reasons the visually-striking character lends itself well to being EC’s first spinoff. And the new book comes to us from a fantast creative team, with writing from Tyler Boss, art from Dylan Burnett, colors from Jordie Bellaire, and letters from Becca Carey.
If you’re familiar with my reviews, you know I regard Bellaire and Carey in particular as the best in their respective fields within comics. I’ve had less chance to write about Burnett, but I think he’s a fantastic artist, kinetic with his storytelling and unafraid to go bold with his aesthetic choices. He’s well-suited for the characters and vibes of this book, too, which are tasked with sort of appealing to an oddball nostalgia for a franchise and character (those both being Rascal Randy) that never existed.
And, of course, this is Exquisite Corpses so he also has to serve up gnarly violence well. The book does it all, and the result is a really intriguing part one to this character origin.
Finally, I won’t spoil the Exquisite Corpses finale here since it’s not out in trade, but there’s also an in-story reason this character makes a great choice for its own mini, and that gives this first issue a nice sense of propulsion as well as a great reason to read it all in full.
The Prog Report
2000AD #2488: This week’s issue gives us a pair of new begginings, the first of which is the return of Nightmare New York by writer Kek-W, artist David Roach, colorist Peter Doherty, and letterer Annie Parkhouse. Nightmare New York is a fun, historical fiction-occult horror strip with fantastic art, and I enjoyed the first book quite a bit. This first strip is a solid return, too, doing nice work reminding us what this story is about while also moving it forward. It feels like both the story I enjoyed the first time out, as well as something new. Next up, we have Anderson Psi Division returning with a new story called The Void from writer Liam Johnson, artist Rob Richardson, and letterer Rob Steen. I always like it when there’s an Anderson story running, and — don’t want to spoil it here — but it looks like this one is tying into something else happening right now, which is a fun thing. This week’s cover (above) is by Neil Roberts. As always, you can pick up a digital copy of The Prog here. And it is also now available weekly in US comic shops! —Zack Quaintance
2000AD #2488: This week’s issue gives us a pair of new begginings, the first of which is the return of Nightmare New York by writer Kek-W, artist David Roach, colorist Peter Doherty, and letterer Annie Parkhouse. Nightmare New York is a fun, historical fiction-occult horror strip with fantastic art, and I enjoyed the first book quite a bit. This first strip is a solid return, too, doing nice work reminding us what this story is about while also moving it forward. It feels like both the story I enjoyed the first time out, as well as something new. Next up, we have Anderson Psi Division returning with a new story called The Void from writer Liam Johnson, artist Rob Richardson, and letterer Rob Steen. I always like it when there’s an Anderson story running, and — don’t want to spoil it here — but it looks like this one is tying into something else happening right now, which is a fun thing. This week’s cover (above) is by Neil Roberts. As always, you can pick up a digital copy of Column edited by Zack Quaintance
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