Fantasy 23 - World Comic Book Review

Geis: A Matter of Life and Death (Review)

February 5, 2017 by DG Stewart

Geis: A Matter of Life and Death
Nobrow, 2016
Writer:Alexis Deacon

On the face of it, “Geis: A Matter of Life and Death” looks like a teenage fantasy comic, with its cover of a curious and very young blonde girl in blue sackcloth wielding an old fashioned lantern, prowling around a darkened library. Instead, “Geis” is a sinister horror story with curiously feminist undertones.

When Matarka, the leader of a city known only as the Capital, dies, her successor is to be chosen in accordance with her enchanted will. Many potential candidates are summoned into a hall where the dead chieftain’s body lies in state. Each of the forty or so assembled people, ranging from the leader of the army to apparently ordinary and normal citizens, sign a document whereby they each agree to abide by the outcome of the selection process.

Cinderella: Serial Killer Princess #1-2 (Review)

January 31, 2017January 29, 2017 by Neil Raymundo

Cinderella: Serial Killer Princess #1-2
Zenescope Entertainment, December 2016
Writer: Dave Franchini

“Cinderella: Serial Killer Princess” is a four-issue miniseries from American comic book publisher Zenescope Entertainment. Zenescope is primarily known for its “Grimm Fairy Tales” series, a dark fantasy series encompassing a multitude of titles, all of which feature modern twists on classic fairy tale yarns.

This new title, “Cinderella: Serial Killer Princess” is spun out of “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” and features a decidedly adult version of the classic fairy tale princess clad in skimpy clothing and well-versed in the use of various weapons.

The story starts with Cinderella being revived from what is presumably corporeal death, by a voodoun named Baron Samedi. Baron Samedi is one of the more important loas (spirits) in Haitian Vodou. Baron Samedi serves as the master of the dead within the Vodou pantheon, and is frequently depicted as being particularly fond of debauchery, alcohol, and giving boons to mortal men in exchange for a personal sacrifice (frequently in exchange for the supplicant’s soul.)

God Country #1 (review)

January 17, 2017 by Neil Raymundo

God Country #1
Image Comics, January 11, 2017
Writer: Donny Cates

“God Country” is a new comic book series from innovative American publisher Image Comics. The title revolves around an enchanted sword that was brought to a West Texas town by a storm. An old widower named Emmett Quinlan is suffering from either Alzheimer’s disease or dementia (we are aware of the differences between the two and hope we do not cause offence by using the terms interchangeably in this critique). Emmett has his mental and physical health mysteriously restored upon wielding the sword.

Lucifer #13 (review)

January 11, 2017December 26, 2016 by Neil Raymundo

Lucifer #13
Vertigo, December 21, 2016
Writers: Holly Black, Richard Kadrey

We reviewed the 1st issue of DC Comics’ 2016 relaunch of the Lucifer comic book series a year ago. In that first review of the first issue, we were of the opinion that the relaunch itself is inherently problematic by virtue of bringing back Lucifer (in so far as the character’s story was already told and wrapped up neatly in the pages of Mike Carey’s 2000-2006 series, leaving very little room for a new story, much less one that carries similar overtones). But we found no fault in the quality of the writing itself. New writer Holly Black’s Lucifer was consistent with Mike Carey’s Lucifer: the plotting in Ms Black’s renaissance of publisher Vertigo Comics’ most intriguing character – the Devil, as imagined in John Donne’s “Paradise Lost” (1667) but engaging in machinations both quiet and loud in contemporary times – is both solid and interesting.