Dark Horse Presents 112 (August 1996)

One Trick Rip-Off finishes here, the first story in the issue too. It’s pretty clear Pope was thinking, especially here—it has a multi-page wordless sequence for dramatic effect—of a single sitting read, not a one-year one. Some very nice art; some weak sentiment. The finish might read better as a single piece.

Actually, it’s an issue of finale installments—French has Ninth Gland’s strange close next and it’s… creepy and disturbing but not at all horrifying. In fact, if one were to synopsize the series, it would sound strange but not scary.

And then there’s Egg. Lovece writes this installment from the perspective of the egg creature. It’s an alien of some sort. I think Lovece is trying to do something about the cycle of abuse (inferring the kid beat the ugly alien for misbehaving with a crowbar). Well-intentioned or not, the writing’s idiotic.

CREDITS

The One Trick Rip-Off, Part Twelve; story and art by Paul Pope; lettering by Michael Neno. The Ninth Gland, Part Seven; story and art by Renée French. Egg, Part Three; story by Frank Lovece; art by Christopher Schenck; lettering by Sean Konot. Edited by Bob Schreck and Jamie S. Rich.

Dark Horse Presents 111 (July 1996)

I was expecting The Ninth Gland to be creepier this issue, but I guess French has to save something for the finish. While it’s disturbing, it’s just disturbing imagery. The story itself is rather tame—though I imagine the payoff next issue will be something awful.

Speaking of awful… Egg, Lovece and Schenck after-school special about a father beating his son and the son bringing home a giant monster. This issue is from the father’s perspective and Lovece writes him even worse than he wrote the son. It’s interesting how, in both installments, the whole world is actually out to get the father and son.

Pope’s penultimate One Trick Rip-Off is gorgeous—lots of great panels this time, fantastic movement between them. It’s an action story; a great looking action story.

Too Much Coffee Man is incredibly bland this issue. Wheeler’s observations are straight out of “Dear Abby.”

CREDITS

The Ninth Gland, Part Six; story and art by Renée French. Egg, Part Two; story by Frank Lovece; art by Christopher Schenck; lettering by Sean Konot. The One Trick Rip-Off, Part Eleven; story and art by Paul Pope; lettering by Michael Neno. Too Much Coffee Man; story and art by Shannon Wheeler. Edited by Bob Schreck and Jamie S. Rich.

Dark Horse Presents 110 (June 1996)

The issue opens with Egg, which is a well-intentioned look at child abuse. The narrator’s father is beating him and the school officials aren’t doing anything to help, even though some are well-intentioned. Lovece’s writing is better in dialogue. Dealing with the narrator’s Stockholm Syndrome, he fails. Also, introducing a giant creature into the situation seems a little cheap. Schenck’s art is fine.

Pope’s One Trick is an action installment. He seems to be ramping up for the conclusion. The art’s great but it’s gone on too long, especially if Pope’s going to load up the ending with action versus story.

The Ninth Gland is getting even freakier—one of the girls is now hallucinating some very disturbing things. Let’s not forget these two girls are hanging around in a hospital basement with the janitor either….

Then Wheeler’s got a page of Coffee Man, who I didn’t miss.

CREDITS

Egg, Part One; story by Frank Lovece; art by Christopher Schenck; lettering by Sean Konot. The One Trick Rip-Off, Part Ten; story and art by Paul Pope; lettering by Michael Neno. The Ninth Gland, Part Five; story and art by Renée French. Too Much Coffee Man; story and art by Shannon Wheeler. Edited by Bob Schreck and Jamie S. Rich.

Dark Horse Presents 109 (May 1996)

I can’t believe I’m about to make this statement—I liked Milgrom’s story the best. It’s some charming little thing about a guy treating his roaches as pets (after all other attempts at pet owning in New York fail). Milgrom’s style is more comic strip than I’ve seen and it works. Even if the protagonist does look like Peter Parker with a receding hairline.

Pope’s One Trick opens the issue and I remembered all the characters in this installment. One of them was mentioned briefly in the first installment. One Trick doesn’t seem to be meant for a lengthy, interrupted read. Pope’s pacing suggests it should be read in a sitting (I know Dark Horse traded it eventually).

Devil Chef ends this issue… it’s a slightly less annoying read knowing Pollock won’t be back with it next time.

And French’s Ninth Gland? Still no real story, just incredibly, uncomfortably weird.

CREDITS

The One Trick Rip-Off, Part Nine; story and art by Paul Pope; lettering by Michael Neno. Devil Chef, Part Three; story and art by Jack Pollock. The Ninth Gland, Part Four; story and art by Renée French. New York Pets; story and art by Al Milgrom. Edited by Bob Schreck and Jamie S. Rich.

Dark Horse Presents 108 (April 1996)

Ninth Gland is fairly gross this issue, though French still hasn’t done anything to tell the reader what the story’s about. There’s something growing in the alien horse and the two girls who brought it to the hospital maintenance man will be affected somehow. It’s creepy.

Pollock’s Devil Chef installment is somewhat less annoying than usual for most of the pages, then it has a moronic ending. The concept—the FDA approving food with a parasite in it to force consumers to eat only that foodstuff—is interesting, actually. Too bad Pollock’s writing is awful.

Then Pope’s got problems with One Trick. It’s impossible to keep his characters straight here (I swear he’s changed one character’s hair color from blond to brown). Also, it feels a little padded. Nice last page though.

DeMos and Gillis have an anti-suicide story. Gillis’s art is fine. DeMos wrote two lines of dialogue.

CREDITS

The Ninth Gland, Part Three; story and art by Renée French. Devil Chef, Part Two; story and art by Jack Pollock. The One Trick Rip-Off, Part Eight; story and art by Paul Pope; lettering by Michael Neno. The Perfect Tree; story by Jeff DeMos; art by Scott Gillis. Edited by Bob Schreck and Jamie S. Rich.

Dark Horse Presents 107 (March 1996)

I’ll start with the worst—Devil Chef. Pollock threatens a second installment. He can draw, this story shows, he just choses not to. It’s an unfunny strip with a lot of details and zero charm.

On the other hand, Purcell and Mignola’s Rusty Razorciam is quite a bit of fun. Mignola’s not a good fit for sci-fi (it’s hard to tell what he’s trying to convey, action-wise, at times), but Purcell’s got an amusing set of characters. The protagonist narrates an incomplete adventure. It’s really rather nice, even with the art problems.

French’s Ninth Gland is weird and ominous. Not much happens this issue (the emphasis is on making the reader uncomfortable), but French’s art is fine; the story works.

Pope’s at a bridging point in One Trick. It’s a Paul Pope talking heads story, actually. It’s a good installment, very cinematically paced.

Geary does another inconsequential page.

CREDITS

Rusty Razorclam; story by Steve Purcell; art by Mike Mignola; lettering by Lois Buhalis. The Ninth Gland, Part Two; story and art by Renée French. The One Trick Rip-Off, Part Seven; story and art by Paul Pope; lettering by Michael Neno. Devil Chef, Part One; story and art by Jack Pollock. Humiliation and Debasement; story and art by Rick Geary. Edited by Bob Schreck and Scott Allie.

Dark Horse Presents 100 1 (August 1995)

Where to start….

Miller opens the issue with sort of a “ha ha, you can’t say it’s misogynistic because it’s intentional” Lance Blastoff! story. Killing dinosaurs, eating meat, those are the things women really need whether they know it or not. The writing’s crap—no shock—but Miller at least draws the dinosaurs.

Bennett and Guinan’s Heartbreakers returns after fifty issues and is no less boring. Sometimes it veers towards interesting territory, but it’s setup for more adventures. Bennett and Guinan avoid the human factor in the new ground situation. Art’s decent.

Pekar and Sacco’s thing is, besides being pointless, fine.

French’s Ninth Gland is really weird. It might be something good, it might not. Too soon to tell.

Lewis has a cute, foul-mouthed animal cartoon strip. Until the Dorkin piece, it’s the most annoying thing in the comic.

As for Dorkin’s Milk and Cheese? I don’t get it.

CREDITS

Lance Blastoff!; story and art by Frank Miller. Heartbreakers, Destination: Earth; story by Anina Bennett and Paul Guinan; art by Guinan and Todd Herman; lettering by Willie Schubert. Peeling and Eating a Tangerine (and Disposing of the Seeds); story by Harvey Pekar; art and lettering by Joe Sacco. The Ninth Gland, Part One; story and art by Renée French. Aboard the Drinking Leviathan; story and art by Jon Lewis. Milk and Cheese, The Devil Made Them Do It!; story, art and lettering by Evan Dorkin. Edited by Bob Schreck and Scott Allie.

Dark Horse Presents 100 0 (July 1995)

This teaser for Dark Horse Presents 100 has some great stuff in it… but it also has some unbearably long entries.

Chadwick’s Concrete—though it’s always fun to read Concrete assuming the worst about humanity—goes on forever and turns out to be a prologue. It’s a little lame, though Chadwick’s art is decent.

LaBan’s Emo and Plum is relatively painless. It’s short, anyway. However Musgrove’s Fat Dog Mendoza is awful.

Paul Pope’s got a couple pages and it’s lovely (kind of an interactive discussion of Picasso). Some great figure work.

Brubaker and McEown tease their entry in 100, as does French. The Brubaker and McEown one seems a lot more compelling, with Brubaker’s writing strong even in the one page.

Then Mignola has an endless three page preview for his Hellboy story. It’s got a lot of expositional dialogue.

Still, this teaser’s better than many of the regular issues.

CREDITS

Eno and Plum; story, art and lettering by Terry LaBan. Concrete, The Artistic Impulse (excerpt); story, art and lettering by Paul Chadwick. Fat Dog Mendoza, The Secret Life of Leftovers (excerpt); story, art and lettering by Scott Musgrove. Pistacho!!; story, art and lettering by Paul Pope. Bird Dog (excerpt); story by Ed Brubaker; art by Pat McEwon. The Ninth Gland (excerpt); story, art and lettering by Renée French. Hellboy, The Chained Coffin (excerpt); story and art by Mike Mignola. Edited by Scott Allie and Bob Schreck.