Expanded Review: WEIRD DETECTIVE #4 of 5

By pghhead -

EDITOR’S NOTE:  We continue our spotlight on WEIRD DETECTIVE, our nomination for the Best Mini-Series of 2016.  It should also be in consideration for recognition in the horror genre, including the Ghastly Award and the Rondo Hatton Award.  We plan to review each issue, and hope to draw more attention to this deserving creative work of imagination.  P.S. . .  There are some incidental spoilers in our review, so tread cautiously. If you’ve come this far, why not pick up the whole series?  The trade paperback is scheduled to be released February 08,2017 and was featured in the October PREVIEWS catalog. Contact your local comic shop and order Diamond #OCT160070. You won’t regret it.  Not to be missed.

 

WEIRD DETECTIVE #4 of 5  (Dark Horse Comics, September 2016 release)  Script: Fred Van Lente.  Art: Guiu Vilanova.  Colors: Mauricio Wallace.  Letters: Nate Piekos of Blambot.  Main cover by Guiu Vilanova & Mauricio Wallace.

 

   True to the promise of the credits page update on what happened so far, ‘things are about to plunge into new levels of weird’ indeed.

28939

     The pop culture references continue, as we’ve come to expect and anticipate (and  gladly). One of the FBI agents in private conference with Detective Fayez is named Clarice, and the other resembles a certain Agent Coulson. In addition to Fayez reporting on Greene, things could get even hotter for him when an interested mysterious third party learns of his involvement. 

 

     The alien Greene has learned how to become a true detective (apparently from all the old Humphrey Bogart films and Dragnet, Law And Order, and other police television dramas), and returns to the site of one of their street surveys and a critical finding. After all, where would a Lovecraft themed story be without some enormous tentacles involved?

 

Untitled4 1

     Greene doesn’t really fix things, just puts a temporary bandaid on it.  And a new problem has arisen, brought to his attention by Fayez’s same sex wife — Sana hasn’t been home for three days.

 

     Greene ignores his directive and does what Bogart taught him to do — he goes looking for her, because ‘she’s my partner, and I happen to be in the detective business.’

 

    While not as sharp as other entries in this series, Issue #4 is still worthwhile and a great read.  Van Lente needs to begin wrapping up all the various plots threads and begins to do so in this issue.What suffers a bit as a result are the amusing jokes and funny incidents that are peppered throughout this mini-series.  The art, while still great to behold, seems rushed a little here compared to other issues.  Some of the facial details are not defined to the extent that we’ve come to expect.

 

     We're looking forward to an action-packed and satisfying ending in Issue #5.  We’re also wondering if Van Lente will be able to work the other remaining senses into the story. By our count, we’ve only seen  6 of the 17 senses that the alien Greene bragged about.  Unless, aliens of his world have a tendency to exaggerate?  Huh!

    

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Robert Kirkman: Invincible, Walking Dead, Wolf-Man

By -
Image
I wasn't actually a huge fan of Robert Kirkman when I first started reading his books.  He was competent, sure, but I didn't see the appeal-- The Irredeemable Ant-Man was a boring side story in the middle of  Civil War and  The Initiative (although I've since changed my mind about this), and his  Ultimate X-Men run was, in many places, a mixed bag (although I did very much enjoy his "Phoenix?" storyline).  And  Marvel Zombies  just seemed like a ridiculous idea--not that I bothered to try it at the time. Now, though?  I've completely reevaluated my opinion on his work, and when his name is attached to a project, I'm far more likely to give it a look.  I don't know if I'd classify him as a master storyteller or a comics icon--but he's very skilled, he has an incredible knack for dialog, and he writes stories that, no matter how ridiculous, seem real .  In a medium where characters frequently violate the rules of physics, that's not alway...
Read more

INDIE COMICS: Huffin’ & puffin’ B.B. Wolf’s got the blues

By pghhead -
Image
BB WOLF AND THE THREE LPs  (Top Shelf, May 2010 hardcover, black & white, 86 pages,   $12.95)  As told by JD Arnold with illustrations by Richard Koslowski What got my attention immediately was the pairing up of a classic fairy tale with musical motifs.  That’s a combination that pushes two of my “hot buttons” - -  so I made it a must-read.  I was not disappointed.  This is a very entertaining and cleverly designed work that rivals Bill Willingham’s  creativity on the long-running FABLES series from Vertigo. As if taking the classic tale of the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs and turning it upside down wasn’t enough to interest, BB WOLF AND THE THREE LPS  serves as an allegory for the oppression of  the black population in the deep South (Mississippi) in the 1920’s.  While they may be free (wolves),  the governing bodies (pigs) have the power to deny them their land, homes and possessions and even own the...
Read more

more random readings from May 2009

By pghhead -
Image
What else did I finish reading last month?  Here’s a cross-section of various titles . . . . . . . . . WITCHBLADE #126 “War Of The Witchblade Part 2” by Ron Marz and Stejepan Sejic  (Top Cow/Image) Preface:  Now here’s an interesting concept! = In order to attract new readers to its’ titles Top Cow is giving out free books each month as part of it’s Let Us Win You Over project.  ( www.topcow.com/freecomics )  Every month it’s a different title. And they work through different comics shops each month as well.  In April the title was Witchblade #126 and one of the participating dealers was Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, DE (my preferred supplier) so voila! - - - I find a copy in my hands. Since the last time I explored the Witchblade series the mythology has expanded to a battle between the forces of light and dark with each side choosing its agents on Earth, hence the Darkness vs. the Witchblade.  I’m still not overly interested in this typ...
Read more