The Unwritten 31.5 (January 2012)

844157 Carey–with plotting assistance from Gross–internally spins off Unwritten with these .5s. I’m guessing, anyway; this one is my first .5. Carey uses Wilson Taylor’s journals investigating the Cabal’s history.

Michael Kaluta handles the art on the first story, regarding Pullman silencing some monks in ancient China. It’s a decent story with a good twist at the end, but it lacks any wow factor.

The second story, however, has the wow. Rick Geary perfectly illustrates the tale of a newspaper cartoonist who has to face the realities of being a storyteller. It’s quietly frightening, especially the postscript. Carey again utilizes a twist. It’s less showy than the first, but more successful.

The third story–beautiful Bryan Talbot medieval stuff–has the best twist because the reader’s in the dark about it for a page. The story progresses before the revelation.

The issue’s an excellent exercise from Carey and company.

CREDITS

Men of Letters. 1: Here is the Man of Virtuous Words; artist, Michael Kaluta. 2: No Honest Man Need Fear Cartoons; artist, Rick Geary. 3: Copy Errors; artist, Bryan Talbot. Writers, Peter Gross and Mike Carey; colorist, Chris Chuckry; letterer, Todd Klein; editors, Joe Hughes and Karen Berger; publisher, Vertigo.

Dark Horse Presents Annual (1998) 1999

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It’s a “theme” annual—characters in their youths.

It opens with Wagner, Chin and Wong on Xena. The art’s a little rough, but Wagner’s writing is solid.

Mignola’s Hellboy is adorable (as young Hellboy stories tend to be). It’s a cute couple pages.

Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo drags. It’s way too didactic. Sakai’s art some okay moments and some not okay ones.

Shockingly, the Ghost story is good. Zanier and Mariano’s artwork is excellent and Kennedy’s writing isn’t bad. It’s confusing for a new reader, but quite decent.

This issue also has the first Groo I’ve read. Though Aragones’s art sometimes gets a little too dense, he and Evanier write a fine story.

Chadwick’s Concrete story is lame. It’s maybe the worst writing I’ve read from Chadwick.

Norwood’s Star Wars thing bores. Surprisingly weak art from him too.

The finish is Geary’s take on The Mask. Some decent art, but pointless.

Dark Horse Presents (1986) #107

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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.

Dark Horse Presents 107 (March 1996)

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 (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) #92

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The issue opens with Wheeler’s Too Much Coffee Man, which is a cute enough story about a disaffected guy with a coffee pot for his head. Wheeler uses the character to generally rail against modern capitalist society. Wheeler’s got a good sense of design and some of the observations are funny (none are profound). It’s fine enough… but it gets old before this first installment is even done.

Blackheart continues… revealing the villains to be costumed Tea Party members. Oh, wait, it’s a little early since Blackheart‘s set in the thirties. Maybe they’re just the well-to-do wing of the Klan. So, you know, proto-Tea Party. Quitely’s art is fantastic and Morrison’s scripting is okay. He sort of jogs around the race thing, which seems silly, since it’s right there.

Geary’s got a very long piece this issue. Some very detailed artwork and nothing resembling a good narrative.

Dark Horse Presents 92 (December 1994)

Geary’s got a very long piece this issue. Some very detailed artwork and nothing resembling a good narrative.

CREDITS

Too Much Coffee Man, Too Much Coffee Man Meets His Coffee Maker, Part One; story and art by Shannon Wheeler. Blackheart, Part Two; story by Robbie Morrison; art by Frank Quitely; lettering by Clem Robbins. Night-Drive; story, art and lettering by Rick Geary. Edited by Bob Schreck and Edward Martin III.

Dark Horse Presents (1986) #87

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This issue is fairly weak.

The Eighth Wonder finishes. Plunkett’s art is good and Janes’s scenic writing–his dialogue, for example–is fine, but the story lacks any real heft. It feels like they hurried or ran out of pages. It ends with a great unanswered questions–why no boats? They’re building a bridge from Europe to Colombia. What happened to boats? It’s disappointing, after the first installment, but not terrible.

Geary’s got a bunch of single page contributions. Like most of his work, some are good, some are not so good. They feel like filler.

Chadwick turns in an utterly useless summary of Concrete’s origin. It might have been nice back in the late eighties, when he first appeared. Interestingly, there’s the promise of a second Concrete… though I doubt Chadwick would ever think of them fighting,

The last Star Riders appears here, thank goodness. Racine’s art is terrible.

Dark Horse Presents 87 (July 1994)

This issue is fairly weak.

Geary’s got a bunch of single page contributions. Like most of his work, some are good, some are not so good. They feel like filler.

The last Star Riders appears here, thank goodness. Racine’s art is terrible.

CREDITS

The 8th Wonder, Part Three; story by Peter Janes; art by Kilian Plunkett; lettering by Vickie Williams. Concrete; story and art by Paul Chadwick; lettering by Bill Spicer. Home Remedy, Standing on Line, Yes, It Happened, The Phantom Telephone; story, art and lettering by Rick Geary. Star Riders, Part Three; story by Étienne Gagnon and Edward Martin III; art by Alex Racine; lettering by Williams. Edited by Randy Stradley.