Dark Horse Presents (1986) #135

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Macan and Doherty finish Carson of Venus poorly. Doherty’s artwork this installment is particularly bad and, though Macan seems to be trying, the characters are all weak. Macan’s attempts at humor are a woman getting slapped around by her husband.

So it kind of goes well with Brubaker and Lutes’s finish to The Fall, all about a guy who wants to murder women. It’s a good conclusion, but it needs an epilogue. While I can understand why Brubaker finished without resolution, he still needs it. It doesn’t compare to the first few installments though.

I was excited to see early Reis on The Mark, but he’s not particularly good. He’s not bad, he’s just mundane. Barr tells the whole thing in flashback, which seems like a bad choice, especially for readers unfamiliar with the character.

Verheiden goes on, again, forever with The Ark. At least Randall has some good panels.

Dark Horse Presents (1986) #134

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Warren finishes up Dirty Pair and I guess it’s good. I mean, it’s a lot of well-drawn action and the jabbering is starting to grow on me. There really isn’t a story though, just scantily clad girls in action scenes. But Warren’s art carries it.

Macan’s writing is sort of better on Carson of Venus and Doherty has a couple good panels. Still, it’s a weak series and it makes me wonder if Dark Horse was just trying every Burroughs license they could get.

The Mask returns to Presents here for the first time in a hundred issues or so. Sibin’s artwork is fantastic so it’s hard to dislike it and Fingerman concentrates on the human protagonist. It doesn’t seem dumb until the very end.

Finally, The Fall. Brubaker introduces the first fantastic element into the narrative and it’s too soon to tell if he can finish it well.

Dark Horse Presents (1986) #133

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Starting with The Fall, Brubaker introduces some complications and revelations here. I’ve read it before, but I can’t remember how it ends. This installment implies there might be some very bad things about to happen. Brubaker handles the change in tone well and Lutes’s art is great. He does fantastic night scenes.

Macan and Doherty’s Carson of Venus is pretty lame. Doherty seems like he’s just about ready to be doing profesional work… but not quite yet. And Macan’s writing is lame. He plots slow and his dialogue is terrible.

The Dirty Pair continues to be action-packed and sort of boring. The back and forth between the protagonists is occasionally amusing, but the whole thing feels artificial, like Warren was writing down quippy conversations and inserting them here.

Clugston’s Blue Monday is well-composed, but badly written. Would Dark Horse have published it if it were by a guy?

Dark Horse Presents (1986) #121

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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.

Dark Horse Presents 121 (May 1997)

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.