Dark Horse Presents 122 (June 1997)

I can’t believe I’m saying it but Snejbjerg’s art messes up this Lords of Misrule. He’s unable to draw a regular person. Instead, the person appears frightening, even though he’s not supposed to be frightening. It’s an okay story–but the art, though great in most respects, doesn’t work.

Nixey’s back on track with Trout, at least as far as the art is concerned. He sort of hurries through this installment, which takes a lot of the charm out of it. I expected him to have a big world for Trout; instead, it’s very constricted.

Jack Zero has another good installment from Zero Boy and Pander–it’s very successful as a Western, a genre I’m not used to reading in comics. The ending is a little ominous though.

Arcudi and O’Connell’s Imago is a Batman and Robin analogue where Robin lets Batman die because he’s an overbearing pain. Mildly interesting.

CREDITS

The Lords of Misrule, Part Three; story by John Tomlinson; art by Peter Snejbjerg; lettering by Annie Parkhouse; edited by Ian R. Stude. Trout, Nicky Nicky Nine Doors, Part Four; story and art by Troy Nixey. Jack Zero, Part Two; story by Arnold Pander and Zero Boy; art by Pander; lettered by John Costanza. Imago, Part One; story by John Arcudi; art by Brian O’Connell; lettering by Sean Konot. Edited by Bob Schreck and Jamie S. Rich.

Dark Horse Presents 121 (May 1997)

The issue opens with Zero Boy and Pander’s Jack Zero, which starts out a little awkwardly… but then quickly establishes itself as a good Western. Pander’s art looks fantastic, bringing a lot of energy to the setting and Zero Boy’s script is thoughtful.

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about Nixey’s Trout installment this issue. He changes up styles here for effect (a dream sequence) and it loses the charm the previous entries had. It’s confounding and almost adversarial. Nixey doesn’t give a point of entry for the reader here.

Macan and Edwards’s Aliens story is kind of interesting, without being noteworthy (rather good art from Edwards, of course). Macan doesn’t like the sci-fi constraints and wants to tell a human story instead; it’s a little obvious and doesn’t work.

Then Snejbjerg does scripting and art on Lords of Misrule. It’s creepy, with great art, but an awkward finish.

CREDITS

Jack Zero, Part One; story by Zero Boy; art by Arnold Pander; lettered by John Costanza. Trout, Nicky Nicky Nine Doors, Part Three; story and art by Troy Nixey. Aliens, Borderlines; story by Darko Macan; art by Tommy Lee Edwards; lettering by John Workman. The Lords of Misrule, Part Two; story and art by Peter Snejbjerg; lettering by Annie Parkhouse; edited by Ian R. Stude. Edited by Bob Schreck and Jamie S. Rich.

Dark Horse Presents 120 (April 1997)

The Gully story from Schultz and Williamson doesn’t have much of a script; with Williamson’s art, who cares about the writing? It’s some otherworldly sci-fi Western thing. Lovely to look at.

White and Snejbjerg’s The Lords of Misrule is a little confusing, but decent. Snejbjerg does a great job with the tone and the art is excellent… he just doesn’t take the time to design it to fit the layers of White’s script. Still, creepy and solid.

Trout’s becoming a new favorite, even though this installment shows Nixey has some peculiar problems with perspective. Lot of charm to it though, very nice characterizations.

Hectic Planet goes on forever here. Dorkin has a bunch of silly sci-fi elements in what should be a human story. It gets tiring after the first page then goes on forever.

Schreck, Rich and Jones have a one page closer. Great art from Jones.

CREDITS

One Last Job; story by Mark Schultz; art by Al Williamson; lettered by Denise Powell. The Lords of Misrule, Part One; story by Steve White; art by Peter Snejbjerg; lettering by Annie Parkhouse; edited by Ian R. Stude. Trout, Nicky Nicky Nine Doors, Part Two; story and art by Troy Nixey. Hectic Planet, Part Three; story and art by Evan Dorkin. Gather Ye Rosebuds; story by Bob Schreck and Jamie S. Rich; pencils by Casey Jones; inks by Monty Sheldon; lettering by Sean Konot. Edited by Bob Schreck and Jamie S. Rich.