Dark Horse Presents 105 (January 1996)

Dark Horse had a misprint this issue. A couple pages were out of sequence on Niles’s Cal McDonald. Well, that misprint in addition to continuing Shaw’s Alan Brand and Musgrove and Chamberlin’s Pink Tornado.

What’s funniest about Shaw this issue is how lazy he gets. Lots and lots of white space here. Alan Brand started out interesting and then got idiotic very quickly. As it did, Shaw’s art got lazier and lazier.

As for Pink Tornado, the art’s a bit better this issue. Musgrove and Chamberlin have problems with eyes. They also, again, write poorly. It’s amazing someone at Dark Horse thought this material constituted quality. Given the subject matter (a fetus as a superhero), maybe they were just trying to get press.

Niles’s story ends. It’s bad, but fine.

This installment of One Trick finds Pope plotting a very European twist. The cliffhanger’s sort of confusing, but excellent overall.

CREDITS

Cal McDonald, Hairball, Part Four; story by Steve Niles; pencils by Casey Jones; inks by Bruce Patterson; lettering by Sean Konot. Alan Bland, That’s Mr. Painter to You, Part Four; script and art by Stan Shaw. The One Trick Rip-Off, Part Five; story and art by Paul Pope; lettering by Michael Neno. The Pink Tornado, Part Three; story and art by Scott Musgrove and Darick Chamberlin; lettering by Konot. Edited by Bob Schreck and Scott Allie.

Dark Horse Presents 104 (December 1995)

Musgove and Chamberlin have a Helen Keller joke in this installment of The Pink Tornado, presumably because they thought it makes them edgy. They’re really just incredibly stupid and rather terrible writers. Their dialogue’s endless and their art’s bad.

As for Niles’s Cal McDonald, it’s fine. I mean, it’s bad, but it’s Jones’s fault. Niles writes an action story and Jones isn’t capable of illustrating an action sequence. It’s maybe the best thing I’ve ever read with Niles’s name on it, as he doesn’t profusely narrate the action sequence.

Shaw’s Alan Bland is, again, weak.

But then there’s Pope and The One Trick Rip-Off. Pope injects magical realism into his urban gang story here. While Pope’s art does lend itself towards the fantastic, his story is set–until this installment–in reality. It’s an odd development, one he handles beautifully.

Oh, and another harmless Pekar and Sacco one pager.

CREDITS

The Pink Tornado, Part Two; story and art by Scott Musgrove and Darick Chamberlin; lettering by Sean Konot. Cal McDonald, Hairball, Part Three; story by Steve Niles; pencils by Casey Jones; inks by Bruce Patterson; lettering by Konot. Alan Bland, That’s Mr. Painter to You, Part Three; script and art by Stan Shaw. The One Trick Rip-Off, Part Four; story and art by Paul Pope; lettering by Michael Neno. Felipe Alfau; story by Harvey Pekar; art by Joe Sacco. Edited by Bob Schreck and Scott Allie.

Dark Horse Presents 103 (November 1995)

I want to take back all the nice things I said about Shaw’s Alan Bland. This installment is annoying and idiotic–Shaw has so many sight gags, he eventually runs out of space on the page. And the script thinks old hippies (who look more beatnik) are hilarious. It’s atrocious.

Pope’s got second slot, which is nice… makes the issue more digestible. One-Trick continues, with Pope complicating the heist aspect of the narrative. It’s such a delicate mix, overall, between genre and tone. Lots of concentration on race and culture here.

Musgrove and Chamberlin contribute The Pink Tornado. No surprise from Musgrove, it’s decently illustrated and terribly written. Presents‘s emphasis on cartoonists continues to fail.

It has to be bad (besides the Pope) because Niles’s mystery is actually the second best story in the comic. There’s less bad dialogue, only because there’s less dialogue, and the mystery’s mildly interesting.

CREDITS

Alan Bland, That’s Mr. Painter to You, Part Two; script and art by Stan Shaw. The One Trick Rip-Off, Part Three; story and art by Paul Pope; lettering by Michael Neno. The God Trilogy (excerpt); pencils by Jack Kirby; inks by Mike Royer. The Pink Tornado, Part One; story and art by Scott Musgrove and Darick Chamberlin; lettering by Sean Konot. Cal McDonald, Hairball, Part Two; story by Steve Niles; pencils by Casey Jones; inks by Bruce Patterson; lettering by Konot. Edited by Bob Schreck and Scott Allie.