2012 in Comics: Best Series of the Year

After countless hours of quality comic-book reading time in 2012 (thanks to the wonderful folks at Bridge City Comics and the invaluable Multnomah County library system), I can honestly say it was a spectacular year for comic fans, and the future is nothing but bright.

Sure, some big things went down in the world of superheroes last year, but other than one particular pointy-eared hero, you won't find much Marvel or DC on this list. If you're new to the medium, most of these books would make for wonderful introductions. Here are my top picks for some of the best ongoing series of the year!

*Note: While all of these series are available on the digital reading platform Comixology –  on smart phones, tablets, and right on your computer screen – many first issues are also offered there for free! Simply create a free account and you're ready to get reading.

FATALE

Writer: Ed Brubaker – Artist: Sean Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics

The Rundown: A classy noir with a supernatural horror twist, following an entrancing femme fatale and the men who stumble into her path.

I'm an absolute sucker for a solid noir tale, and even more of a sucker for supernatural horror. So you can imagine my excitement when this series was announced, pairing longtime creative partners Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (best known for their CRIMINAL series, among many other credits).

With tight and stylish writing, juicy cliffhangers, and stunning artwork, FATALE is a huge success each and every issue.

Vol. 1: Death Chases Me

Buy It:                                      

Better World Books

Amazon

Comixology (digital)

Read It Now:

*Free First Issue*

Spoiler-Free Review: Kill List

Viewed as part of the After Dark portion of the Portland International Film Festival. 

Plot: I read this several times before seeing Ben Wheatley's second feature film Kill List, and I heard it again from the speaker who introduced the screening: the less you know about this movie going in, the better. I will say that it involves a hitman (Neil Maskell), which you can gather from the title, and that what starts as a well-written family drama gradually morphs into something much more sinister.

Here's a little more help. If you enjoy any of the following films, you may want to check out Kill List:

- The Wicker Man (1973)
- In Bruges
- The Descent

Review:  More than anything else, Kill List deserves a great amount of credit for its ambition to blend the crime drama, psychological thriller, and horror genres into an effective 95-minute film. The script by Wheatley and Amy Jump invites us into the home of our lead character and fleshes out his relationship to his family and friends so well that, like all the best horror, we actually care about what happens to him.

One thing's for sure: this film is not for the squeamish. As the plot spirals into darkness, the level of unsettling violence rises. But more disturbing than the bloodshed is the path that Wheatley has laid out for his protagonist; I'm not exaggerating when I say that one particular moment of the film sent chills throughout my entire body and, when I re-lived the scene in my mind on the drive home, caused the hair on my arms to stand up straight.

Not to say that Kill List is perfect. I had no trouble with several aspects of the film being left up to the imagination of the audience, but there are a few pacing issues throughout that may cause restless viewers to shift in their seats. If you fall into this camp, do yourself a favor and hold strong through the final act, which should send genre fans home with a punch to the gut and more than a handful of questions to ponder with their friend/spouse/partner – who most likely thought the film was garbage.

Kill List debuted at South by Southwest last March, and receives a limited U.S. release on February 3. It is also available now on Video on Demand, if you're so inclined.

13 Horror Films You May Have Missed: Part 3

And so we reach the end of our frightening little journey through these lesser-known horror gems. It's been fun!
Lock your doors and grab your crucifix, because here comes: #4 – 1!

#4: The House of the Devil

Director: Ti West

Starring: Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, 

Greta Gerwig

Year: 2009

If you're ever in the mood for some 80's nostalgia, you owe it to yourself to check out this homage to the horror days of old. 

What's it About?
As is the case with most of these flicks, the less you know going in, the better. Seriously, don't even watch the trailer. But if you must know the bare bones of the plot: desperate for some cash, a college girl accepts a babysitting job from a pair of eccentric characters living in the boonies, and things just don't go well.

"Are you here for mother?"

What Makes it Scary-Good?

• It's all in the build-up. Other horror directors should take notes on Ti West's ability to crank up the tension while showing the audience virtually nothing. 
• Right down to the Coca-Cola cups, the props and intricate details used to recreate the 1980s deserve some kind of award. 
• That ending sure packs a wallop. 

Comic Review: Animal Man #1

Animal Man #1

Script: Jeff Lemire

Art: Travel Foreman, Dan Green

Price: $2.99/$1.99 digital

Alright everyone, now THIS is good stuff.

Story:
The concept of Animal Man could easily result in all-around silliness: a man named Buddy Baker is tapped into the planet's wildlife, and he can use this connection to possess the abilities of any animal he chooses.

Goofy? Hang on a sec.

Instead of traveling the world punching bad guys and delivering monologues about saving the pandas (although these tasks do fall under his job description), Buddy's primary role is as a husband and father of two. Jeff Lemire is a writer who knows how to bring out the intricacies and subtle quirks of his characters through traditionally mundane situations, such as the kitchen scene in this issue, and he delivers in spades with just about every line of dialogue here. The Baker family feels like a complex and and fascinating bunch – who just happen to have a super-powered father.

But Lemire doesn't settle for a simply fun, suburban superhero tale. After a shocking event during what Buddy expects to be a routine job, the book spirals into full-on horror mode; Buddy has a doosie of a nightmare, giving him his first glimpse of what could be his most horrifying challenge yet.

And that last page...yikes. Let's just say there's something wrong with the Bakers' youngest daughter, Maxine.

Anyone else get a Captain Kirk vibe here?

Art:
I can't imagine a better artist for this creepy tale than Travel Foreman. His extra-thin lines and untraditional page layouts give the book a slightly off-putting vibe, which is absolutely perfect given the dark places that this story is headed.

Having said that, Foreman's style definitely takes a little getting used to. He uses much more negative space than most comic artists – too many artists feel the need to fill every centimeter of the page – allowing the characters to pop off the page. There are also several downright strange facial expressions to be found, but they help define their characters in a unique way, so I'm all for it.

Oh yeah, and Buddy's nightmare sequence? Gorgeous and terrifying all at once. This book is worth a purchase for those few pages alone.

New-Reader Friendly?
I had never touched an Animal Man comic before, and I felt like I knew everything I needed to know to enjoy this story. Lemire also slapped on a clever "interview" with Buddy Baker on the first page that essentially sums up the character's history to this point. So there you go. 

Next: behold the awesome power of Batman #1!

13 Horror Films You May Have Missed: Part 2

On my morning walk with my five-month-old Corgi, I passed by a lawn covered in tombstones, cobwebs, and sheets suspended to look like ghosts. If only we could see front-yard haunted cemeteries year round!
Hold your loved ones close, because here comes: #9 – 5!  
#9: Let Me In

Director: Matt Reeves

Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, 

Chloë-Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins

Year: 2010

It was a tough decision choosing between the original Swedish version (2008's Let the Right One In) and this American remake, but a few extra touches make this tale of bloodsucking adolescence stand at the top of the pack.

What's it About?

Owen (played to perfection by Kodi Smit-McPhee) is twelve years old, lonely, and relentlessly bullied at school. Things seem to be looking up when he befriends Abby, a young girl new to his apartment complex. But with a string of murders plaguing the town, Owen discovers that Abby may be much older – and much hungrier – than he thinks.

 "Do you think there's such a thing as evil?"

 What Makes it Scary-Good?

• While not necessarily the "scariest" pick on the list, this one earns mega-points for its surprisingly genuine portrayal of young love.
•  Every single actor brings their A-game, resulting in a haunting story full of characters that you grow to actually care about.
• When the fangs come out, they mean serious business. No twinkling vampires here, folks.

Comic Review: Swamp Thing #1

Swamp Thing #1

Script: Scott Snyder

Art: Yanick Paquette

Price: $2.99/$1.99 digital

Since it's October and all, I know what you must be thinking: What a perfect time to pick up some horror comics! 

Okay, so maybe that wasn't your first thought, but why not? There are some fantastically creepy funnybooks sitting on the shelves (literal or digital) just waiting to be cracked open, and Scott Snyder's Swamp Thing is a great place to start.

Here is a little background on what Swamp Thing is all about:

Alec Holland was a botanist working on a project that could change the collective future of the world's flora and fauna. But as these things go, a tragic lab accident left Holland on the brink of death until he was essentially absorbed into "The Green" – or the consciousness of all the earth's vegetation – and transformed into Swamp Thing, defender of "The Green."

Sound geeky? Perhaps, but a single read through the pages of Swamp Thing will have you ducking under the covers, rather than rolling your eyes.

Story:
Swamp Thing #1 kicks off with Alec returning to his life as a human being after years spent as Swamp Thing. Snyder is a writer who clearly does his homework before delving into a script, and this issue only furthers his reputation. Full of specific plant-related details only a botanist would know, Snyder's narration invites the reader into Alec's mind and shows us why he was such a strong candidate to defend the world's plant life.

But all is not well on planet Earth, and Snyder brings his tried-and-true sense of dread to the story within the first two pages. Not to mention the mass-murdering beast that shows up about halfway through – but those details are best discovered on their own.

There's a lot of buildup in this issue (which comes with the territory in a "#1"), but it's so carefully crafted that it perfectly captures the sheer terror guaranteed to come later in the series.

Art: 
Yanick Paquette's big, bold lines do a wonderful job of separating this book from the pack. And while his page layouts in the scenes with Alec get the job done, he really hits it out of the park with the "monster" sequences; the thick divisions between panels look like black moss growing across the pages, which are perfect compliments to the eerie contents of the panels themselves.

However, a visit from the boy in blue only reminds me that I can't seem to accept this re-design on Superman's costume. It just looks...unnecessary.

Say goodbye to the red undies.

 New-Reader Friendly?
While this book works well as a "new beginning" for Swamp Thing, it wouldn't hurt to bop on over to Wikipedia and have a look over the character's history. Or even better, check out the legendary Alan Moore's work on our gooey hero!

Next: More eerie pre-Halloween reading with Animal Man #1!

13 Horror Films You May Have Missed: Part 1

The Shining.

Halloween. 

The Exorcist.

As October moves swiftly along and more pumpkins pop up on the neighborhood doorsteps, these three films often spring to mind when we contemplate heading down to the video store (or more likely, rearranging the Netflix queue).

While there is nothing wrong with these tried-and-true fright flicks, they make it all too easy to let lesser-known horror gems fall by the wayside.

Over the next week, I will discuss 13 of the spookiest movies that deserve a spot on your Halloween watch list, from the classy, sophisticated scare pictures to the unrelenting, terror-fueled thrill rides. There's no particular order here, but counting down is always exciting, right? And as usual, all proceedings are spoiler-free.

So throw on a Vincent Price record, break out the candy corn, and turn off all the lights, because here comes:   #13 – 10!

#13: Black Christmas

Director: Bob Clark

Starring: Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, 

               Keir Dullea

Year: 1974

Although Black Christmas has earned a devoted cult following since its release in 1974, this slow-burn slasher remains criminally underseen by the general public.

  "Agnes, it's me Billy..."

What's it About?

Just in time for the Christmas festivities, a murdering psychopath hides in the attic of a sorority house, waiting to prey on a group of unsuspecting college girls. 

What Makes it Scary-Good?

• Pre-dates John Carpenter's Halloween with its use of the first-person point of view through the eyes of the killer.
• Blends chilling atmosphere with witty and well-timed humor, making the characters relatable and likable.
• Guaranteed to make you think twice before answering the telephone.