Chapter 1’s and one shots abound in this issue of Dark Horse Presents, which can only be for the better in my opinion. If you’ve read my last two reviews, I’ve not been particularly fond of the latest issues. Thankfully this one is back in league with what I’ve come to expect from Dark Horse Presents.
Chapter 1 of Saint George: Dragonslayer is the tale of a Roman hero, Draconarius Georgius, fighting to quell an Egyptian uprising. There is action, secrets, camaraderie and the promise of adventure. I’ve been loving Fred van Lente‘s Brain Boy and while it’s still early in this story, I have a feeling I’m going to really enjoy this too.
Chapter 1 of Integer City is a new private investigator story in the futuristic Interger City from Jamie S. Rich. This story is okay. There are a number of references to how Integer City was planned out to be mathematically perfect, and my mathematician side is intrigued to know more about the setting, but the plot isn’t anything exciting: Jonny Kilmeister is on the case to find an unknown stolen object. That’s about all we know. I won’t say this is a bad comic, but I’m not excited yet.
The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy is clearly inspired by such childhood TV cartoons as The Smurfs and the 1960’s George of the Jungle. But where they are perfectly happy to kill characters. The villain spells out the plot aloud, to himself, as one would expect of a kids cartoon. Stan Sakai could have at least given him a familiar to talk to! It’s cute but definitely aimed at a younger audience.
Chapter 11 of Alabaster: Boxcar Tales follows where Dancy Flammarion was during the events of the previous two chapters, something I was certainly wondering, seeing as she’s the main character. It’s mostly plot and exposition, but it’s engaging enough to work. Most every chapter in an issue of Dark Horse Presents is 8 pages, and some that are all background can feel very long, but Caitlin R. Kiernan makes it feel really quick. Well done.
Chapter 5 of Nexus: Into the Past is better than the last issue, mostly because we now know what Hellpop’s daughters have to do with the plot. I love mysteries, but I hate not knowing. And the time traveling chase continues! I still love this series, and am looking forward to the next chapter as always.
Chapter 1 of Monstrous is the new comic I am most looking froward to seeing more of. This race of demon/alien/monsters are called the Lacerti and they methodically round up and kill the last remnants of the human race, but one victim, our narrator, found himself trapped in the body of his killer. Great post apocalyptic setting, I can’t wait to see where this goes, though I have a few suspicions.
Chapter 9 of Crime Does Not Pay is much like the other chapters in this series, in that it’s not really my thing. Corrupt cops running around with little to no plot. But I do have a major complaint this time that anyone following this series should know: in my preview copy, the 55th page is replaced by a duplicate of the 49th page (the title page for this story). If you are following this story in particular check for this before you purchase at your local store!
Chapter 4 of Mr. Monster: Dark Stern is much better than it has been. I think it’s interesting that I like chapter 1 and chapter 4, but not the two in the middle. And that I felt the two in the middle were too slow. Maybe if they were compressed into 8 pages, I’d have liked this series more. If you liked the series thus far, it’s definitely a well done conclusion.
Chapter 3 of The Strain: The Fall – The Silver Angel is the conclusion of a series that I’ve been kind of if-y about thus far. We finally see the connection between the flashbacks the Silver Angel has been seeing and his apparent suicide mission. I think given the conclusion, this isn’t a bad total story, but it doesn’t work well deconstructed like this.
Now & Then is a one shot by Chad Lambert which explores the curious nature of memory. And I have a weird deja vu sensation, which if Lambert somehow induced that, then my hat off to him. Regardless, it’s a deeper comic than most found in Dark Horse Presents and that change of pace is nice.
Finally, FINALLY, I’m back to being able to recommend the Dark Horse Presents issue. It is once again worth the $7.99. Thank you Dark Horse, I was starting to get a little concerned.
Matthew Bryant, a.k.a. Baker Street Holmes, is a writer and lead editor for the Red Shirt Crew. He is glad to have some new series, as the old ones were getting stale. Now, if only they could get something interesting to happen in the City of Roses… You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or email him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.
The Red Shirt Crew Blog and Podcast Network 