Dark Horse Presents (1986) #147

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I wanted to like Ragnok—not because Arcudi’s writing, but because Sook’s on the art. But it’s dark and indistinct. Lots and lots of black—very Mignola-lite. If Arcudi maybe had an interesting script, it would work. Unfortunately, the script seems to be going for something eccentric; Sook’s art doesn’t fit it. Maybe it’ll get better….

The last Ghost installment is a waste of time. Luke’s writing has gotten steadily worse as the installments went on (this time, when he tries to talk about sexism, it’s painful). Worse, Baker and Kolle’s art suffers from the script. There’s this waste of a full page panel. Still, it has a funny conclusion.

And Aliens vs. Predator finishes awful. Thompson and O’Connell’s weak art certainly doesn’t help it, but the fault is the script. Edginton goes a different route than expected—he ignores the heavy continuity and just writes a dumb story.

Dark Horse Presents (1986) #146

Dhp146

I was really expecting more from Edginton here. His Aliens vs. Predator starts out as a rip of Alien—bickering crew, uncharted planet—only adding in aliens once the people land (they don’t have spacesuits either). But then it turns out to be a poorly conceived “thirty years in the future” sequel to the first Aliens vs. Predator series. Doesn’t help Thompson and O’Connell’s art is weak. Though I guess the spaceship looks all right.

Shabrken continues with enthusiasm from artists Henry and Lieber (though the scale of the events gets out of control). It’s not terrible—Hartley’s writing is solidly mediocre—it’s just pointless.

Arcudi scripts the Glack strip for Blickenstaff. Considering it’s two lines of dialogue, not sure why it needed a separate writer.

Then Ghost continues. Baker and Kolle’s art is crisp, but Luke is trying to write her as a pulp hero. It doesn’t work out.

Dark Horse Presents (1986) #123

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Imago‘s finish opens the issue. Arcudi might have needed more time–this installment just gives up, admitting the concept was more interesting than the execution. O’Connell’s art is okay. His faces aren’t distinct enough, but it’s fine for a short story.

Nixey continues the issue’s lackluster vibe with Trout‘s conclusion. In it, Trout (the character) gets his big moment. Except Nixey hadn’t been building toward it except in this installment, so it sort of misfires. Nixey was best when he brought the questing aspect to the story. Without it, like here–an all-action installment–Trout has some good artwork and design, but nothing compelling about it.

Jack Zero reverses the issue’s negative tide a little. It’s got a problematic end, but Zero Boy and Pander do come up with a fantastic resolution to Jack’s trip to the west. Better, they continue coming up with unexpected developments. It’s fine work.

Dark Horse Presents (1986) #122

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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.

Dark Horse Presents 123 (July 1997)

CREDITS

Imago, Part Two; story by John Arcudi; art by Brian O’Connell; lettering by Sean Konot. Trout, Nicky Nicky Nine Doors, Part Five; story and art by Troy Nixey. Jack Zero, Part Three; story by Arnold Pander and Zero Boy; art by Pander; lettered by John Costanza. Edited by Bob Schreck and Jamie S. Rich.

Dark Horse Presents 122 (June 1997)

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 (1986) #115

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Wow, what a downer.

Arcudi’s The Creep returns (with O’Connell on art this time). It’s a very depressing story about him hanging out with a prostitute. It’s utterly fantastic. It still shocks me Arcudi can be so subtly devastating.

Trypto has a happy installment though; the dog rescues his owner from a drug cartel. Again, Leialoha’s art doesn’t convey the story well. Mumy and Ferrer’s emphasis has changed… it’ll be interesting to see where they go now.

Rennie and Langridge’s Dr. Spin is a bunch of fun too—it’s an anti-superhero comic superhero comic. It’s a lot of fun, with Rennie getting in a lot of jabs at the industry in general. Langridge is a little more restrained than usual, but excellent.

Then there’s Lowlife. It’s Brubaker writing from a girl’s perspective about her unhappy romances and perpetuating them. Some hiccups in the perspective, but it’s an effective downer.

Dark Horse Presents 115 (November 1996)

Wow, what a downer.

Then there’s Lowlife. It’s Brubaker writing from a girl’s perspective about her unhappy romances and perpetuating them. Some hiccups in the perspective, but it’s an effective downer.

CREDITS

The Creep; story by John Arcudi; art by Brian O’Connell; lettering by Sean Konot. Trypto the Acid Dog, Wheel of the Broken Voice, Part Three, L.A. Proved Too Much for the Man; story by Bill Mumy and Miguel Ferrer; art by Steve Leialoha. Dr. Spin, Part One, Trapped in the Dimension of Pretension; story by Gordon Rennie; art by Roger Langridge. Lowlife, Part Three, When I Started Saying “We”; story, art and lettering by Ed Brubaker. Edited by Bob Schreck and Jamie S. Rich.