A lot of comics have been piIing up in mylittle burrow, waiting for review, so it's adivers.e crop under the microscope thismonth ...ZOMBIE BOY RISES A6AlNmnm WI IUU8rnTBBV MARK 8T)KE)PIIU8lEE BY TIllllUKN OUCIIXA,lot of comics lived and died in 1989,and among the c<strong>as</strong>ualties w<strong>as</strong> Mark Stokes'ZOMBIE BOY. After two <strong>issue</strong>s, ZOMBIEBOY disappeared into the ether while Stokesmoved on to a ZOMBIE BOY film andestablized 'an animation studio: After thishiatus, though, Stokes' brainchild h<strong>as</strong> returnedln ZOMBIE BOY RISES AGAIN.Actually a compilation of the two earlier<strong>issue</strong>s, ZOMBIE BOY RISES AGAIN chroniclesthe life of 11- year old Morgan McCorlandale,who returps from a vacation on Voodoo Island<strong>as</strong> a zpmbie. Aided by a servant (Ubu)and his cat Jud<strong>as</strong>;Morgan manages to puncturethe stuffy society blowhards who popu- .late the world of his parents,Senatorand Mrs.Beulah McCotkindale.The <strong>issue</strong> is composed of a number oftales of varying quality, from mildly amusingto deviously satirical and whether the readerlikes the material or not depends on his/hersense of humor. The best tales are probably'The Curse of Rigby the Pygmy" (In whichMorgan must contend with an obnoxiousPygmy delivered to the McCorkindale residenceby mistake) and "Sticks and Bones"(wherein Morgan facesan evil shade he's createdand a new nanny/housekeeper.) All of thisis light-hearted fluff inAddams. There's no realsubstance here other than contempt for highsociety mingled with a f<strong>as</strong>cination withghoulishness, but somehow it all works.Stokes manages to move his stories alongat a fairly rapid pace, which keeps the reader'sinterest from slipping into ennui. Even whenformula gets a trifle thin, there is an odd%moment of irony or amusement to keep thingsgoing (a good example is the preserved cavemanin theL<strong>as</strong> Bris<strong>as</strong> Tar Pits in "Thicker thanWater," which produced a pretty goodchuckle.) No, the stories aren't very demanding,but they're hardly the brainless garbageto be had in most super-hero comics. It'sdoubtful whether the charm of the materialcould continue in a regular comic book, but <strong>as</strong>a one-shot, the tales work pretty well.Stokes' art is simplistic a la CharlesAddams, too. This is actually on$ of thestrengths in these stories, <strong>as</strong> detailed artworkwould have cl<strong>as</strong>hed with the simple plots.The cartoony, sort of sophisticated lines anddesign capture an austere feeling whichcl<strong>as</strong>hes with Morgan's supernatural practices.The amusing thing in all this is that whileMorgan's zombie practices may not authentic(they're more stereotype), they are presented<strong>as</strong> more valid and substantial than the affluentcirclesin which his parents participate. Inother words, it's always nice to see pretensionbeingskewered,and Stokes does a re<strong>as</strong>onablejob of this.No, ZOMBIE BOY RISES AGAIN isn'tgoing to change any lives. And the comicreally isn't very substantive. But it is a ple<strong>as</strong>antdiversion and you could spend pour* s 'x Comic -aoks and Cards Imoney on worse things. Anything with agallery by artists like Kyle Baker and ChesterBrown can't be all bad ... (Bb W, $2.50) Grade: BSIN COMICSWRITTEN AND ILLU8'IUTEDBY JAY 8TEP#W8MlU8IIE) M I B!ACK EVE MOBYCTI(N8When Canada's Tragedy Strikes Presswent under l<strong>as</strong>t ear, a lot of quality materialalio disappearei (like CHEESEHEADS andPICKLE.) Jay Stephens' SIN w<strong>as</strong> one of thevictims, so the emergence of Black Eye Publicationsand subsequent resurfacing of SINCOMICS is a sourceof cheer for t<strong>as</strong>teful comicfans.Issue#2 gives the reader a variety of talesall somehow integrally tied, despite the disparityof the material. It all begins with "TheLap of Luxury," in which a scientist unveilsthe robotic sex toy, Cog. The focus thenmoves on to the super-hero Big Bang and hiscohort, Adam. The two float in Big Bang'sseemingly endless power. The opportunitysoon arises, <strong>as</strong> Big Bang discovers that Cogh<strong>as</strong> gone berserk and killed his m<strong>as</strong>ter. BigBang decides to travel back in time to stopCog's rampage, but the results aren't quitewhat he expected ... Or are they?Along for the ride and interwoven aresuchstephens creations <strong>as</strong> "The Land of Nod"(featuring Merv and Dave) and "Space Apenumber 8." Like the aforementioned PICKLE,SIN COMICS manages to be a comic-withina-comic,and while the results are less successful,Stephens does createa pretty worthyeffort.Part of the success is due to the skillfulblending of wildly different creations withno apparent ties. Because each world is sovariant, it takes some focus to avoid confus-ing the reader. To some extent, this isachieved through just having interestingcharacters. Each is distinct and engaging inhis/her own way. The result is bewildering,but amusingly so.Likewise, Stephens makes each worlddistinctive by employing different art styles.So while Big Bang's "Atomic City Tales" isneo-realistic, "Space Ape Number 8" iscartoony, and "The Land of Nod" is simplistic.but it all works for each location shift.There are a lot of hidden d lights in SINCOMICS#2, but I'll leave it up % those interestedfew to discover them on their own, butany comic with a line like, "Everybody knowsthat apes are hilarious!" H<strong>as</strong> to have merit.The only sad note to all this is thatStephens is cancelling SIN COMICS to concentrateon a new title, ATOMIC CITY TALES(which will focus on Big Bang and Adam andother new characters while eschewing thefunny animal characters.) Since the highlightto <strong>issue</strong> #2 w<strong>as</strong> "Space Ape Number 8," I can'thelp but be a little apprehensive, but one<strong>as</strong>sumes that Stephens knows what he's doing.If it's anything like SIN COMICS, it willbe worth the time and effort to find it. (BbW,$3.50) Grade: A--ScottVice
-TWO LOCA m m , m wYVIIII. UIIII VLL ...In The ZEPHYR CUB .801 So. West Templeuuunl rmvvur1824 South 11 00 E<strong>as</strong>tIIIIIIIIIIIIIImALL FB8@&vJ !AGES a ~ ggra ~DAEY G WAllGeR OVWOAJ3CbOPPeRmDmeDecOwOS~RSVOODOO SW7nGakus
Change language