Dark Horse Presents (1986) #130

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Wow, so Presents dropped Shane Oakley’s Stiltskin, one of the best things it’d published, before it finished? Swell.

For a replacement, we get the endless Wanted Man, from McEown. McEown is a good cartoonist, though his writing is self-indulgent and seems only to serve putting topless little cartoon girls in his story. It’s a waste of time.

Cooper’s Dan & Larry this installment expands the story’s world, which is cool. It’s not as disturbing as usual, just vaguely creepy at times. There’s still a lot of solid humor and Cooper’s art is excellent.

Murray and Gregory’s do a biography of Mary Walker, who was a Civil War surgeon. It’s okay… Gregory’s art is nearly up to par. Murray’s script concentrates on the Army’s misogyny, so it comes off poorly at times. Weak (non-factual too) ending.

Weissman’s Phineas Page is rather amusing (crossing over with the Marquis de Sade’s Justine).

Dark Horse Presents (1986) #100-4

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I guess Dave Gibbons had no quibbles about Frank Miller ripping off Watchmen for their Martha Washington story this issue. Nice art, bad writing.

Forney’s got an anecdote about meeting Tom Waits. It has some charm, but not enough to sustain it.

Then Geary’s back with a one page strip, as are Pekar and Sacco. They’re both harmless (but thank goodness they’re short).

Warner brings in a Black Cross piece. His writing has gotten a little better in terms of dialogue in the hundred issues since he introduced the character. The story’s useless though. Art’s not terrible, not good.

Sendelbach’s Mr. Applehead is like a deranged hipster SpongeBob. I guess if you’re a hipster you might like it. Art’s good cartooning.

Luckily, there’s Brubaker and McEown’s story about a guy having problems after breaking up with his girlfriend. McEown’s art is fantastic and Brubaker’s very sensitive. It’s a nice one.

Dark Horse Presents 100 4 (August 1995)

I guess Dave Gibbons had no quibbles about Frank Miller ripping off Watchmen for their Martha Washington story this issue. Nice art, bad writing.

Forney’s got an anecdote about meeting Tom Waits. It has some charm, but not enough to sustain it.

Then Geary’s back with a one page strip, as are Pekar and Sacco. They’re both harmless (but thank goodness they’re short).

Sendelbach’s Mr. Applehead is like a deranged hipster SpongeBob. I guess if you’re a hipster you might like it. Art’s good cartooning.

Luckily, there’s Brubaker and McEown’s story about a guy having problems after breaking up with his girlfriend. McEown’s art is fantastic and Brubaker’s very sensitive. It’s a nice one.

CREDITS

Give Me Liberty, Attack of the Flesh-Eating Monsters; story by Frank Miller; art by Dave Gibbons. The Night Tom Waits Poured Me a Bourbon on the Rocks; story by Julie Batersby; adaptation and art by Ellen Forney. The Symphony of Daily Nourishment; story, art and lettering by Rick Geary. Oh My Goodness!; story by Harvey Pekar; art and lettering by Joe Sacco. Black Cross; story and art by Chris Warner. Mean Mr. Applehead, Violence is Golden; story and art by Brian Sendelbach. Bird Dog; story by Ed Brubaker; art by Pat McEwon. Edited by Bob Schreck and Scott Allie.

Dark Horse Presents (1986) #100-0

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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.

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.

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.