Comics
Area 10 Christos N. Gage and Chris Samnee. DC/Vertigo Crime, $19.99 (184p) ISBN 978-1-40121-067-0
In a page-turning mix of science fiction and noir thriller, New York City detective Adam Kamen is on the trail of the serial killer Henry the Eighth, so named for his penchant for decapitating his victims. Kamen is a familiar character—hard-boiled, independent, a guy with a tough exterior but emotions that run deep. A head injury in the midst of the investigation gives Kamen unusual powers and leads to an exploration of trepanation—deliberately drilling a hole in the skull—as well as introducing him to a beautiful psychiatrist who develops an interest in his case. Gage not only has written for such comics as Iron Man and Spider Man, but also has penned episodes of Law and Order. At times the plot reads like a tightly written episode of that show; he even throws in a reference to Hudson University, where so many students have met their end in the long-running television series. The supernatural element sets the plot apart, however, making it difficult to predict the next plot twist and keeping the story from veering into cliché. Samnee's sharp black and white illustrations create an ominous atmosphere and give readers a palpable sense of Kamen's growing panic as chaos descends. (Apr.)
Super F*ckers James Kochalka. Top Shelf, $14.95 paper (80p) ISBN 978-1-60309-052-0
A superhero team book like no other, Kochalka's gleefully disjointed romp explores what a group of young, confused people with superpowers would probably actually do, which is to say what the ones without superpowers tend to do: spend all their time playing cruel social-hierarchy games, indulging in awkward sexual experimentation, one-upping each other's potty-mouths, and figuring out creative ways to get high. Naturally, Kochalka draws it in his standard ultra-cute, clear-line style. Even his lines are mostly in a palette of simple, flat colors, giving the artwork a sense of candy-cane playfulness. The bulk of this collection was originally published as issues 271, 273, 277, and 279 of an “ongoing series” (no other issues exist, of course, but it's a hilarious excuse for Kochalka to dispense with pesky necessities like exposition and resolving cliffhangers); they're accompanied here by a solo story about the sycophantically adored and wildly irritable hero Jack Krack. There's a disarming sweetness about the whole thing, despite the satirical over-the-top vulgarity and the patina of angst and nastiness; even the occasional explosions of violence are adorable and briskly healed up. (Apr.)
Criminal Macabre: Cellblock 666 Steve Niles, Nick Stakal and Michelle Madsen. Dark Horse, $12.95 (104p) ISBN 978-1-59582-408-0
The latest in the Cal MacDonald series finds the drug-addicted paranormal investigator homeless and hiding from the police, who want to stick him with a false murder rap. Then things get really unpleasant. Cal has always protected ghouls (while fighting zombies, werewolves, and vampires), but a renegade ghoul turns him in to the law so that he's sent to a corrupt hellhole of a prison, badly beaten, and thrown into solitary confinement. Fortunately, Cal's undead buddy Mo'lock brings him pills and helps him get the information he needs to reanimate the corpses of murdered prisoners that the prison warden has been burying nearby. Creator Niles was responsible for 30 Days of Night and certainly knows how to do graphic horror. Stakal's art is appropriately choppy, but that roughness combines with Madsen's dark-toned coloring to make it difficult to recognize which body part is being shredded or whether a character is alive or dead. Nevertheless, the result will entertain nonsqueamish readers. (Jan.)
