Longbox Junk - One Shots (part 1)

Welcome to Longbox Junk, the comic blog stuffed absolutely full of reviews you never asked for!

One shots! I DO love the one shots!

I have a LOT of one shots in my collection. They're actually my favorite kind of comic book. Not that I mind following a favorite character month to month, but there's definitely something to be said for having a complete story in one issue. No cliffhangers. No waiting. One issue. . .that's it.

In my extremely humble opinion, the one-shot is a true test for comic book creative teams. They have very limited space to craft a complete narrative. Because of that limitation, one shots can be a bit of a mixed bag. Some teams simply aren't up to the challenge. Others manage to create often-overlooked nuggets of pure comics gold.

Let's take a look at this handful of one-shots and see what we get!  I'm still trying to keep things a little shorter, so I guess we'll see how that works out as well.  Ready? Let's do it!

ONE SHOTS (Part 1)

HELLBOY: 2017 WINTER SPECIAL

DARK HORSE (2017)

COVER: Sebastian Fiumara

First off. What an absolutely fantastic cover! Definitely worthy of a turn on the rotating office wall comic cover display. It captures the spirit of Hellboy perfectly.

There are three short unconnected stories in this special, let's take a look at them individually. . .

THE GREAT BLIZZARD
SCRIPT: Mike Mignola & Chris Roberson
PENCILS: Christopher Mitten

This story doesn't feature Hellboy or any of the B.P.R.D. characters, but some characters I'm unfamiliar with who seem to be paranormal investigators in the 1800's (David Grey and Sarah Jewell). The art is very nicely done on this one, and the dialogue between the characters is snappy. The story is very short, but well written, and I wouldn't mind finding out more about these characters.

GOD REST YE MERRY
SCRIPT: Mike Mignola & Chris Roberson
PENCILS: Paul Grist

A tale set at Christmas in the 1950's starring Hellboy and Professor Bruttenholm versus a possessed Santa Claus. It's played for laughs and the art isn't great. . .very cartoony. I got a chuckle out of Hellboy getting an ugly sweater for Christmas, though. Probably the worst of the three. Still, not terrible.

THE LAST WITCH OF FAIRFIELD
SCRIPT: Mike Mignola & Scott Allie
PENCILS: Sebastian Fiumara

Now HERE'S some good Hellboy. The classic team of Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and Liz Sherman tracking down some lost children and coming in conflict with a witch. The ending is a chilling reminder that when it comes to the supernatural, sometimes when you win, you still lose. The best of the bunch with a great story and great art by the same artist who did that fantastic cover.

All in all, I really enjoyed this one shot. The middle story was pretty light, but that didn't drag the whole thing down. I can heartily recommend this one, even if you aren't a big Hellboy fan.

NEXT!

RED SONJA: ONE MORE DAY

DYNAMITE (2005)

COVER: Liam Sharp

ONE MORE DAY
SCRIPT: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti
PENCILS: Liam Sharp

I REALLY liked the physical quality of this one shot. It's a heavy, thick book with a minimum of ads on good quality paper. Dynamite always knows how to put together a nice comic. The cover is a fantastic Frazetta homage that's almost worth the price of the comic alone!

The story is a simple, straightforward tale of Sonja repaying an old friend (now a king) a favor by helping defeat a rampaging army led by a brutal general. She demonstrates that it isn't always the strongest army that wins the day by leading them into a deadly trap instead of meeting them on the battlefield. I liked the simplicity of the story and how it took Sonja from her usual lone wolf adventures and put her in the position of being the leader of an army.

With the simplicity of the story, the art is the star of the show. From the beautiful cover all the way through to the last page. The artist DID seem to have some trouble getting a handle on what Sonja's face was supposed to look like (a bit inconsistent through the comic). But a small complaint like that won't keep me from highly recommending this fantastic one shot to any fan of fantasy comics.

Two for two good ones so far. Let's see what we've got next!

PREDATOR: CAPTIVE

DARK HORSE (1998)

COVER: Dean Williams

CAPTIVE
SCRIPT: Gordon Rennie
PENCILS: Dean Ormston

This one was REALLY good!

For starters, the photo-realistic painted cover is superb. The interior art is dark and heavily-inked. It reminds me a lot of Keith Giffen's earlier work. It perfectly fits the story and every panel on every page is fantastic.

The story is one of the best Predator tales I've read. I could easily see this one as a movie. Basically it's about the only Predator that they managed to capture alive. . .but are they studying it, or is it studying them?

All in all, from front to back, I found this to be a fantastic one shot. If you're a Predator fan and haven't read this yet, find it! It's a great little story.

Three for Three! So far, so good.

NEXT!

PUNISHER: FORCE OF NATURE

Marvel/MAX (2008)

COVER: Mike Deodato

FORCE OF NATURE
SCRIPT: Duane Swierczynski
PENCILS: Michael Lacombe
Don't let the nicely-done, but somewhat ridiculous cover fool you. The story inside is actually a tense, almost Hitchcock-like "Lifeboat" story about 3 friends turning on each other after the Punisher carefully maneuvers them into position.

I liked that the story shows Punisher as a devious manipulator and that NO fish is too small for him. It did break down into violent Punisher business as usual at the end of things, but before that, it was a nice change of pace from the standard Punisher story.

The art throughout was generally pretty good, and reflected the tense psychological drama of a story that focuses less on violence than the usual Punisher story (at least until toward the end).

All in all, despite a somewhat predictable ending, this was a good read with an unusual story for The Punisher. It definitely earns its "Mature Readers" label for violence and language, but if you're a Punisher fan, that probably won't bother you. Ignore the cover that has nothing to do with the story and pick this one up if you spot it in the bargain bin.

AND FINALLY. . .

X: ONE SHOT TO THE HEAD

DARK HORSE/ COMICS GREATEST WORLD (1994)

COVER: Frank Miller

ONE SHOT TO THE HEAD
SCRIPT: Jerry Prosser
PENCILS: Chris Warner

I had never heard of this character, not even sure where or when I picked up this one shot, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's actually pretty damn good (in a grim-n-gritty 90's way).

This comic doesn't do any favors as far as introductions go. It's not new-reader friendly at all. I had to hit the internet for info on "X", who seems to be a Punisher/Batman combo. The story is very simple, but nicely done, with the title character stalking and trapping a crooked politician.

The art is a bit schizo. . .the cover by Frank Miller (before he went insane) is absolutely fantastic! Then the front 2/3 of the book is "Meh" art with lousy colors. Then the last 1/3 switches to a different art team (same pencils, but different inker and colorist) and it's superbly done! The great Tim Bradstreet on inks for the back half definitely elevates things several notches.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. The art was hit and miss, but generally good. It was a lousy introduction, but enough of one that I want to dig up more "X" comics. Bad taken with good, I give this one an average score.

CONCLUSION

Overall, this was a great bunch of one shots. There's a few little complaints here and there, but really there's not a bad one in the bunch. There not being one truly BAD comic out of five is actually a very pleasant surprise, because it seems there's always ONE bad apple. Not this time!

Even better, not only isn't there any really bad ones to be found, there are a couple of truly excellent one shots to be found here! I can heartily recommend Red Sonja and Predator as fantastic examples of creative teams stepping up to the plate an hitting a home run!

Hellboy is ALMOST there, and still highly recommended. Punisher is good IF you're a Punisher fan. If you're not, then it's not going to change your mind. Lowest on the rung was X. . .and even that wasn't really BAD, it just had some art problems.

Up next. . .

I like one shots. How about some MORE one shots?

Sgt Rock, Wolverine, Star Wars, Wonder Woman, and Grimm Fairy Tales. . .

Be there or be square!

Longbox Junk - Off Brand One Shots Part 1

Welcome back to Longbox Junk, the place to find all the comic reviews you never asked for!

I believe I've mentioned in a couple of posts that I've recently come into two longboxes STUFFED with non-DC/ Marvel comics. . .mostly from the 90's.

I bought the boxes from a closing comic shop (another one bites the dust, R.I.P.) for a measly FORTY BUCKS because the shop owner knew that nobody else but me was going to touch them.  Indeed. . .his closing sale had been going on for a week and he hadn't sold but a few comics from those boxes.

SO. . .

Here I sit with about SIX HUNDRED random comics from mostly-defunct comic publishers like Valiant, Malibu, Innovation, Eclipse, NOW, Impact, Continuity, Topps, CrossGen Chaos, and others I've never even heard of.  Along with a healthy sprinkle of older comics from companies that are still chugging along like Dark Horse, Image, and Antarctic.

What to do with all of that fine Longbox Junk? Unfortunately, there isn't much that's complete, as far as runs or mini's. . .so despite the bounty of bargain box books at hand, they don't really fit my concept for Longbox Junk, where I generally try to get into full runs and complete stories.

BUT. . .

Among all the incomplete runs and story fragments, there is a big, beautiful stack of ONE SHOTS!

If you've been reading this blog for a while, then you know the love I have for the one shot!  It's probably my favorite form of comic art.  The creative team has ONE and ONLY ONE issue to tell a complete story.  There's no room for error. . .no "well, maybe next issue will be better", like there is in a series.  I absolutely love seeing if a creative team can step up to the challenge of the one shot.

So let's get into some of these non-DC/Marvel one shots, shall we?  We shall!

RED SONJA

A DEATH IN SCARLET

Cross Plains Comics (1999)

A DEATH IN SCARLET

SCRIPT: Roy Thomas & Steve Lightle

PENCILS: Steve Lightle

COVER: Steve Lightle

THE COVER: 
Very nicely done! Lots of detail, great colors.  I like the way the main subject sits against the stark black background.  Sonja's face is a little strange, and there's no way I can hang this one on my office wall without an awkward appointment with HR (but that's Red Sonja covers in general, not just this one), but I like this one a lot!

THE STORY: 
A young Sonja learns the trade of thievery from a woman named T'Shika in the city of Khorsun.  When a theft goes wrong and the two find themselves pursued by the private army of a rich trader, Sonja stumbles into knowledge that the trader had something to do with the death of her family.

Sonja turns from hunted into hunter as she and T'Shika infiltrate his palace and find an ally in the form of an enslaved shape-shifting priestess called Sabra.  Unfortunately, in the battle to get close to the trader and gain information, Sonja accidentally kills him and is forced to leave without getting any closer to those who killed her family.

The End?

THE REVIEW:
  Although listed as a one-shot on comic reference sites, this comic looks a lot more like what was supposed to be the first issue of an ongoing series.  It stands alone as a pretty good story, but there are a lot of obviously-dangling plot threads, including an ending that's more of a "to be continued".  That said, the legendary Roy Thomas does a great job returning to one of his signature characters.

BONUS: There's a nice little essay in the back by Thomas on how he created Red Sonja for Marvel.

The art is very nicely detailed, but the colors are often a little garish.  Not often enough to bring things down too much, though.  There's also a LOT of cheesecake going on.  Like the cover (same as the interior artist), there's a pretty hard focus on Sonja in sexy poses throughout the whole comic.  So even though the story is pretty good, this isn't really a comic you're going to want to read at work.

THE VERDICT: 
I give this comic 4 out of 5 barely-covered boobs.

NEXT!

BOMBAST

TOPPS (1993)

BOMBAST LIVES!

SCRIPT: Roy Thomas & Gary Friedrich

PENCILS: Dick Ayers & John Severin

COVER: Jack Kirby

THE COVER: 
A great, colorful, old school character cover by the legendary Jack Kirby. . .complete with the signature Kirby Krackle! To be honest, the character himself looks a bit generic.  That said, this is the kind of cover that makes you want to see what's inside.  I REALLY like the bombastic text advertising the all-star classic creative lineup and the hilarious (to me, anyway) "1 of 1 COLLECT 'EM ALL!" tag.

THE STORY: 
A strange earthquake rocks the city of Chicago, opening a deep chasm that a young street punk named Darren falls into.  He finds himself in a mysterious cave with glowing rocks and a strangely-dressed man in a crystal pod.  As he investigates, he accidentally opens the pod and frees the man, who speaks in a strange language. . .but we readers know that he's a "ninth man" named Bombast with a mission to save the world of the "tenth men" and he's been in the pod for 15,000 years!

The confused Bombast leaves the chasm with Darren and begins to explore the unfamiliar world of technology he's found himself in.  When Darren is attacked by drug dealers he owes money to, Bombast saves him by using superhuman powers that allow him to turn almost anything into a deadly thrown weapon.  The battle brings Bombast to the attention of Chicago's resident super-cop, The Savage Dragon!

Bombast realizes he can't defeat Savage Dragon and is forced to escape.  Soon after, he encounters a strange metal-clad being named Death Flash who speaks his language.  Death Flash reveals that he is also a ninth man, but he is there to destroy humanity.  After a short battle, Bombast returns to the chasm, hoping to find some information to guide him.  He encounters yet another ninth man called Glida.  As they battle, their fight is interrupted by ANOTHER ninth man named Captain Glory, who somehow knows both of their names.

The End. . .to be continued.

THE REVIEW:  
There's a LOT of old school talent on this book!  That said. . .the finished product sadly doesn't  match the promise held in those names.   It's a shame to see such a waste.  The story is actually pretty poorly-written. . .especially in the dialogue, and in particular the dialogue of the reader's entryway into the story, the young, black "junkie" who discovers Bombast.  To be perfectly honest, most of his dialogue is extremely cringeworthy and borderline racist.  It almost breaks the story, it's so bad.

Setting that aside, the character of Bombast himself is just as generic as I was afraid of based on his cover appearance.  His powers are vaguely defined (he can. . .throw stuff?), he looks pretty ridiculous, and his dialogue is slightly annoying.  To make matters worse, his foe "Death Flash" rolls around Chicago on roller skates.

I realize that the creative team were going for a sort of late Silver/ early Bronze Age throwback style, and to their credit, they succeeded. For a comic written in 1993, this looks and feels exactly like something from the early 70's!

Unfortunately they didn't succeed in a GOOD way.  Instead, this is the sort of cringeworthy stuff that people making fun of the Silver/Bronze Age point and laugh at.  Maybe it was done on purpose? I sort of hope so, because then it's kind of brilliant, in a way.  If not, then it's just a pretty poor effort.  Sadly, I have the feeling this wasn't SUPPOSED to be bad.

The art serves the purpose of telling the story, but doesn't try to reach any higher than that.  Like the writing, I was expecting a little more from names like Ayers and Severin.  This whole comic just sort of feels like the minimum effort was put into it.

BONUS DISAPPOINTMENT: My copy didn't even have the Super Deluxe KirbyChrome trading card.  A single tear slowly trickles down my cheek. . .

THE VERDICT: 
I give this comic 2 out of 5 old white guys trying to figure out how young black people talk.

NEXT!

GRIMM FAIRY TALES

2017 ARMED FORCES EDITION

ZENESCOPE (2017)

BLOODLINE

SCRIPT: Joe Brusha & Dave Franchini

PENCILS: Ario Murti

COVER: Alfredo Reyes

THE COVER: 
As a former Marine, a red-blooded male, and a general "America, Hell Yeah!" kind of guy, this cover immediately grabs me.  It's bold and very nicely done.  If I could hang this on my office wall without multiple HR complaints, I would.

BUT. . .

As an adult comic reader, it's a little embarrassing.  I would never have bought this if it hadn't come to me in a giant box of random comics.  My daughter was laughing when we were pulling one shots to the side in a separate pile (there's about 30 more) and she spotted this one.  She asked who buys these kinds of comics.  I didn't have a good answer.  That's why it's in this review.

THE STORY:
In the dead of night at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., a mysterious hooded woman tracks her prey through the dark halls of the museum, pausing to briefly reflect on her family's long and dedicated military service to the United States through history as she passes by various displays.

Finally, she confronts a giant bull-headed creature with glowing red eyes and leaps into action, revealing herself as Belle, Hunter of Beasts! And. . .nope. That's it.

To be continued.

THE REVIEW:
What little "story" there is in this comic takes up a total of three and a half pages, and is actually just a preview for a (then) upcoming series.  For what it is, it's well-written and nicely-illustrated, but it's hardly worth even calling a story.

So this is a pretty thick comic.  What's in the rest of the pages?

It's all single page pinups of scantily-clad women with barely-there "military" wear and guns.  So, yeah. . .except for the preview at the front, the rest of this comic is boob-tastic military soft porn.

Now, don't get me wrong.  The art is great on all of them, and I've got nothing against some fine-lookin' comic ladies. . .but it's just sort of embarrassing that comics like this exist.  It reminds me of the old "Swimsuit Specials" Marvel used to put out before they realized everyone was making fun of them for it.  And indeed, my daughter was laughing when she challenged me to review this.

Challenge accepted, punk! BOOM! Here's your review!

BUT I DIGRESS. . .

Talking about the cover above, I mentioned that my daughter and I were pondering who exactly buys these comics.  Who are they created for?  The only answer I really can think of is that there's a LOT of fantastic artistic talent being wasted appealing to the most basic interests of young men, and that (based on the other handful of comics from this publisher I now own) Zenescope as a company in general exists to profit from those basic interests.  Those basic interests being boobs.

Seriously. . .there's some great talent in this "comic" going to waste on stuff like this.  Judged on the art alone, there's a lot to like.  Unfortunately, the direction that art is pointed is disappointing.

THE VERDICT:
I give this comic 4 out of 5 anonymous HR reports for the art.
1 out of 5 skipped ads for the "story".

I feel dirty now.  MOVING ALONG!

MARRIED. . .WITH CHILDREN

BUCK'S TALE

NOW COMICS (1994)

BUCK'S TALE

SCRIPT: Geoffrey White

PENCILS: Eddie Pittman

COVER: Tom Richmond

THE COVER:
Not good.  It looks like something a teenager would draw for high school art class.  The (accidental, I promise) running theme with this batch of one shots (except Bombast) seems to be focused on nicely-illustrated boobs with the woman's face as an afterthought.  This cover is no exception. Everything but Kelly Bundy's boobs is pretty poorly done.

 I'm familiar with the Married. . .With Children T.V. show, but until now have never read one of the comics.  This cover does NOT give me confidence that it's going to be any good. Let's do it!

THE STORY:
We follow the tragic tale of the Bundy's dog, Buck, beginning with his early days as the unwanted pup of a stray and a purebreed poodle living on the streets and searching for his father among the mongrels of the stray dog underground.

After finally finding his father and being rejected, Buck is saved by Bud and Kelly Bundy, who use him to gain sympathy as they scavenge for food.  After proving himself useful, Buck becomes a member of the dysfunctional Bundy family.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

I came into this without much confidence based on the minimum effort given to the cover.  I wasn't wrong.  This whole thing feels sort of pointless and random.  None of the jokes really hit until Buck is in the Bundy home and we get some of that classic "Peg vs. Al" back and forth that made the T.V. show a hit, but it's too little and too late.  The rest of it is just sort of "This happened and then this happened" with surprisingly little humor for what is supposed to be a comedy-based comic.

I digress a bit, but I see this often in licensed comics.  Some things just don't translate well from screen to page.  Comedy is definitely one of them.  It's a rare thing for a comic book to be able to capture the same spark of comedy as its source material.  This comic not only doesn't capture that spark (with the exception of a few gags toward the end), but doesn't even try that hard to do so.

The art is bright, cartoony, and very exaggerated.  For what it is, it's pretty good.  The art tells the story, but doesn't try to go any higher than that.  The artist doesn't really capture the essence of any of the T.V. characters very well beyond the world-weary Al Bundy, who is the only real bright spot in either writing or art in this comic. . .and his few scenes are at the very end of the story

Overall, this is just a very forgettable comic with surprisingly little comedy for being based on a classic T.V. sitcom.  Where Married. . .With Children the T.V. show subverted normal sitcom tropes to become something unusual, Married. . .With Children the comic book is pretty much by the numbers.

THE VERDICT:

I give this one 2 out of 5 hands down the pants.

CONCLUSION

This first handful of off-brand one shots was pretty disappointing.  For me, Red Sonja was the best of the bunch, with the rest showing either a lack of effort or too much effort in the wrong direction.  Let's hope for a bit of improvement in the next batch my daughter has picked for me to review.

Up Next. . .

Single issue offerings from Rock-It Comix, Arcade Comics, Antarctic Press, and Acclaim Comics coming in the next Off-Brand One Shots Edition of Longbox Junk. 

Be there or be square!

Longbox Junk Halloween - Red Sonja Halloween Special

Welcome back to Longbox Junk, where you can find more comic reviews you never asked for than you could ever ask for!

We're still having a bit of Halloween fun here in Longbox Junk by spotlighting  some of the spooky stuff lurking in the shadows of my (and my daughter's) comic collection.

This time out, join me in taking a look at a Halloween Special one shot featuring Red Sonja. . .a character I wouldn't normally associate with Halloween.  But then again, I just reviewed a Jonah Hex Halloween issue a few posts back, so I guess in the world of comics just about anything goes.

SO. . .Red Sonja Halloween.  Let's do it!

RED SONJA

HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

DYNAMITE (2018)

COVER: Reilly Brown

First, the cover.  Hmmmmm. . .not bad.  I like it.  I tend not to hang Red Sonja covers on my office wall's rotating comic collection because I don't want to get red-flagged for an awkward HR meeting, and this one definitely fits into that danger zone. . .that said, it's really well done.  It has a great feeling of motion, the pumpkin creature is amazing, and the colors are perfect.  I may not be able to hang this one up. . .even though the ladies at work don't seem to mind some Thor covers inviting them to the gun show. . .but it's a great Halloween cover.

Two stories in this issue. . .let's take a look.

CURSE OF THE WOLF

SCRIPT: Erik Burnham

PENCILS: Tom Garcia

Red Sonja rides into a village preparing to celebrate The Festival of Valahiei. . .which falls on the last day of Valahiei, when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest and when spirits are most easily able to visit the world of the living.  Halloween, in other words.

Later, while drinking and carousing in the local tavern, Sonja is approached by an old woman who claims to be in need of a warrior.  Her son is being held prisoner by a beast in the woods outside of town. . .a dangerous forest that only the most foolish would venture into on this night, of all nights.  Sonja agrees to help the old woman.

Red Sonja's new friend/drinking partner, Konnar, offers to guide her through the forest, and so the two of them set out on their adventure.  It isn't long before the pair discover why the villagers are so afraid of the woods as they are surrounded by spirits.  Sonja recognizes them as harmless shades, but then she hears a voice from her past. . .

It is the mocking voice of Sonja's arch-enemy, the sorcerer Kulan Gath, who Sonja had slain years before!  Sonja goes on the attack as the figure of Gath rises before her, but her sword does no harm because he is also merely a ghost, but one that has come to taunt her.  As Kulan Gath tells her that he is there to watch her last battle and he waits to torture her in hell, she ignores him and continues deeper into the forest.

Suddenly, a vicious creature attacks from the darkness, taking Sonja and Konnar by surprise and beheading Konnar.  It's a werewolf! A brutal battle between Sonja and the creature ensues, but in the end Sonja kills the beast. 

As Sonja recovers from the battle, the old woman from the tavern appears to thank her for killing the beast and freeing her son's soul. . .for they were one and the same.  Sonja is understandably upset by the old woman's deception.  The old woman turns into a spirit as the sun rises and thanks Sonja again, but the spirit's words ring hollow as Sonja considers the senseless death of her new friend, Konnar.  

The End.

Spirits and Werewolves in a dark forest.  I guess that technically makes this a Halloween story.  It's not a bad little tale, even though I'm not entirely sure of the reason it even exists. . .beyond the obvious reason of Dynamite squeezing a few bucks out of Red Sonja fans for a "special" issue.  But like I said. . .it's not bad.  It's well-written and has a nice mix of action and slower moments in the short space it's given.  

Probably the best part of this story for me was the art.  It's very nicely detailed and I really like that the artist portrays Sonja a bit differently than usual.  Where she is usually drawn as sort of a thin and very beautiful woman (see the cover for an example), this artist gives us a thicker, more muscular Sonja with a somewhat plain face. . .a more realistic look for a warrior, even if she IS still sporting a ridiculous barely-there chainmail bikini.  But it ain't Red Sonja without the trademark chainmail bikini, I guess.  

So. . .a pretty good story with lots of spirits and a cool battle against a werewolf, backed up with some great art featuring an unusual look for Red Sonja.  This first story is a winner! Moving on. . .

HAIL HALCOOSE!

SCRIPT: Tom DeFalco, Anthony Marques & Liam Marques

PENCILS: Anthony Marques & Avery Marques

Red Sonja's meal at a tavern is interrupted when a young girl tries to warn her about something, but is quickly taken away as hooded men attack.  Sonja is so enraged by this turn of events that she decides to beat her attackers down with a leg of mutton and mug of ale instead of even bothering to draw her sword.

After Sonja easily defeats her attackers, she learns from one of them that they were trying to capture her for a sacrifice to "Lord Halcoose".  Worse, the little girl that tried to warn her is also supposed to be sacrificed.  This doesn't sit well with Sonja at all.  She vows to find and kill this Lord Halcoose.

Elsewhere, a robed priest prays to a gigantic purple monstrosity. . .Halcoose.  The little girl who tried to warn Sonja is bound and prepared for sacrifice, but Sonja arrives just in time. . .

A short battle ensues and Sonja easily defeats both the priest and the creature. . .

When the battle is over, Sonja warns any other followers of Halcoose to steer clear of her or meet the same fate.  She then frees the young girl and advises her to get a sword.

The End.

Okay then.   Hmmmm. . .

Quite a bit of difference between this story and the first one, both in tone and art style.  This story looks and reads more like one of the all-ages DC Super-Hero Girls comics than a Red Sonja comic.  It's much lighter in tone than the somewhat dour first story, and the ending has a happy "Girl Power!" feel to it, rather than the unhappy ending of the first story.  

Likewise, where the art on the first story was finely-detailed and interesting, the art here is much more cartoony and exaggerated.

It may seem unfair to base my thoughts on this story by comparing them to another one, but the differences are jarring.  Taken on its own, this isn't a bad story at all.  It's extremely short and seems to have been written for a young female audience, but it's still pretty good.  The art is also quite different than what I would expect from a Red Sonja story, but for what it is, it's good and it fits the light tone of the story perfectly.

Still. . .it's a bit confusing to me exactly who this story was written for.

CONCLUSION

If I had to describe this comic in one word, that word would be: Confusing.

The two stories given in this issue aren't bad at all, but I fail to see anything but the thinnest connection to Halloween beyond the cover and a brief mention of a holiday of spirits in the first story, which could have been an adventure in ANY issue of Red Sonja without being in a special Halloween issue.

And then while the first story seems to have been written for existing fans of Red Sonja, the backup looks more like an all-ages "Girl Power!" offering aimed at young female readers. . .which I'm not sure is the average readership of Red Sonja's adventures.  The differences between the two stories are jarring.  

You can't really give this comic to a young girl because the first story is for a mature audience. . .but then again, half of this comic is written for kids, so adult readers are really only getting half a comic for their money.

Overall, despite a bit of confusion on my part as to who this comic is for, I enjoyed it.  The first story was well written and the art style spotlights an unusual vision of Red Sonja I'd like to see more of.  The second story is quick, light, and features some nice cartoon-style art.   

I'd say that if you're a fan of Red Sonja, then pick this one up if you spot it hiding in a bargain bin.  I'm not sure that anyone who isn't already a fan will get much mileage out of it.

Up Next. . .

There's still two weeks left before Halloween, so yep. . .MORE Longbox Junk Halloween fun!

Be there or be square.

Longbox Junk - One Shots Part 2: Hellboy, Punisher, Red Sonja, Boba Fett, Tomb of Dracula & X-Files

More one shots! I DO love these little bite-size pieces of the comic world. . .


Let's do this!

HELLBOY: DOUBLE FEATURE OF EVIL

Dark Horse (2010)
SCRIPTS: Mike Mignola
PENCILS: Richard Corben
COVER: Richard Corben


This one shot presents two stories: A haunted house that forces the occupants to bring it victims and a man who calls on the wrong God in an Egyptian museum, along with a framing device of both stories being movies shown to an audience of the dead in an abandoned movie theater.

Both stories are brilliantly illustrated by one of the true masters of horror comics, Richard Corben, and the art is worth the price of admission (heh) alone.

Likewise, both of the stories are well written by Mike Mignola, but the first is more enjoyable. The second story only fills a few pages and feels very rushed, but it's not bad at all. . .just very short.

Overall, this is a fantastic collaboration between two comic legends and is quality work from cover to cover. Very well done.

MARVEL MANGAVERSE: PUNISHER

MARVEL (2002)

SCRIPTS: Peter David

PENCILS: Lea Hernandez

COVER: Lea Hernandez

In this manga-style story, The Punisher (Sosumi Brown) is a teacher by day and "Tokyo's kinkiest superhero" by night as she seeks to destroy her nemesis. . .Skang Kee Ho.

Her teenage sister (Hashi Brown) discovers The Punisher's secret lair and takes up a cursed sword to rescue Sosumi after she's captured by the demon Oni Yew and Skang Kee Ho.

Okaaay. . .

For sheer strangeness, this story fills the bill.

I can tell. . .especially with names like "Skang Kee Ho" and "Hashi Brown", and I should mention that THIS Punisher doesn't kill, but "Punishes" by tickle torture and ass-paddling. . .that this isn't meant to be taken seriously, and given that, it's a fun little one shot with occasionally clever writing and very nice manga-inspired art.

But just because it's not bad, that doesn't mean it's all good either. The story is ridiculous, there's no backstory for the main character to tell how or why she became The Punisher, and there are a few truly groan-worthy moments.

Overall, this one shot is basically a lot of "WTF?" in a small package.

RED SONJA: SONJA GOES EAST

DYNAMITE (2006)

SCRIPTS: Ron Marz

PENCILS: Joe Ng

COVER: Alvin Lee

Red Sonja travels to the far eastern realm of Khitai where she allows herself to be captured by a ruthless warlord in order to rescue an enslaved princess, the daughter of a neighboring ruler.

Unfortunately, things aren't what they seem to be. . .the princess is no slave. . .and Sonja must fight her way to freedom.

I'll say this. . .Dynamite knows how to put together a very nice book. 40 pages, no ads, heavy gloss paper. This is a nice, thick comic for your money. You can just FEEL the heft and quality in your hand when you hold it.

The story is a simple one, but well written. The art is simply outstanding, Red Sonja portrayed in brilliantly-colored and highly-detailed manga/anime style is a VERY nice change from the usual sword and sorcery style.

Overall, this one-shot is pure quality comics from cover to cover.

STAR WARS: BOBA FETT - OVERKILL

DARK HORSE (2006)

SCRIPTS: Thomas Andrews

PENCILS: Francisco Ruiz Velasco

COVER: Adam Hughes

A scheming, low-level Imperial officer on a backwater mining planet hires notorious mercenary Boba Fett to resolve a miner strike behind the back of his commanding officer, hoping to reap the benefits of promotion for his problem-solving skills. 

Unfortunately, when Boba Fett solves a problem, it's usually not in a way that benefits anyone but himself, and his explosive "solution" attracts all the wrong kind of attention from Imperial higher ups. 

Dark Horse didn't always do a great job with Star Wars, but this one shot highlighting Boba Fett is a nice example of when they pretty much hit the nail on the head.

The story is pretty simple, but interesting, and even has a few nice moments of humor. The art is cartoony and exaggerated, but fits the tone of the story very well. . .and the 3/4 page reveal of Boba Fett is outstanding.

Overall, this wasn't the greatest Star Wars tale ever told. . .but it's far from the worst. It's actually pretty good, and is a fine example of how everything in the Star Wars universe doesn't HAVE to be epic in scope and dramatic in nature.

TOMB OF DRACULA PRESENTS: THRONE OF BLOOD

MARVEL (2011)

SCRIPTS: Victor Gischler

PENCILS: Goran Parlov & Dalibor Talajic

COVER: Bryan Hitch

In this origin story of Marvel Vampire Raizo Kodo, Raizo and his younger brother infiltrate a seemingly unbeatable warlord's camp to assassinate him. They succeed, but barely escape with their lives.


During the battle, Raizo's brother is bitten. . .and the plague of vampirism sweeps through the Kodo clan, forcing Raizo to kill his entire family. But before it's all done with, he too is infected.

I had never heard of Raizo Kodo, not being much of an X-Men fan (where I guess he was an occasional recurring character), but as a stand-alone story about the origin of an ancient Japanese vampire, this was a pretty engaging story.

It was a little predictable, and the art (while generally pretty good) was dodgy in places, but overall this one shot checked all the boxes I wanted it to in a vampire story. It's not the best vampire story I've ever read, but it's not bad at all.  


The part I liked best about it was the unusual setting for a vampire tale. . .moving things away from the typical European locales to Japan.


And finally. . .

THE X-FILES: AFTERFLIGHT

TOPPS (1997)

SCRIPTS: Stefan Petrucha

PENCILS: Alexander Saviuk & Jill Thompson

COVER: Miran Kim

Scully and Mulder investigate a case in Texas that involves UFO sightings going back to the 1800's.

They quickly discover that there is more going on than they bargained for in a story involving the fading memories of an elderly professor, alien "greys", Men in Black, a scheming drifter, and the last flight of a steampunk airship. . .

There's a lot going on in this book. . .unfortunately, it seems like it is about 50% filler to pad the length out to make a 64 page "graphic novel" when the basic underlying story could have easily been a two issue story in the regular ongoing series (at the time).

That's not to say it's all bad. Once you strip away the two useless side plots that pad the book, you have a pretty good story about a man and his daughter struggling to understand what is real and what is the result of his accelerating dementia.

What I really liked about this story is that it touched on one of my personal favorite "X-Files", the mystery of UFO sightings long before the Wright Brother's first flight.

The art is a bit schizophrenic in that sometimes it is dark and moody, and sometimes it is cartoony. The artist never quite manages to capture the likeness of Scully or Mulder, and there are a few places where the art switches to an almost watercolor painted look. The art is all over the place.

Overall, I liked this book because of the unusual subject and nice touches of humor. What I didn't like was the pointless side plots to pad the length and the occasionally shaky art.

CONCLUSION

Overall, this handful of one shots were less of a mixed bag than the previous batch.  I generally enjoyed them all, and even though there were a few rough spots here and there, I could easily suggest reading any of these.  


I'm having a hard time deciding which one I liked best, but if I HAD to choose, I'd say Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil.  Corben.  Mignola.  How can you NOT like it? If I had to pick the worst of the bunch, I'd say X-Files: Afterflight.  A good underlying story unnecessarily padded for length and with somewhat shaky artwork.  It's not BAD, just a bit disappointing.


Up next. . .


Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Longbox Junk. . .
DC's Star Trek/Star Trek The Next Generation: The Modala Imperative 8 issue crossover mini.


Be there or be square!

Longbox Junk - One Shots: Azrael, G.I. Combat, Red Sonja, Lone Gunmen, Bruce Wayne, Scarecrow, & Conan

ONE SHOTS!

Welcome to another round of random single issue Longbox Junk.

Let's get this party started!

AZRAEL PLUS (DC)

A team-up between two great characters. . .Azrael and The Question.

First, the good. . .an awesome Kitson cover!

Now the bad. . .the rest of it.

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh here, it's not really BAD bad. . .it's just not really that good in any way. It's readable, but extremely forgettable. The art is okay, but I remember Giarrano's art being better than this. The teamup between The Question and Azrael is forced, and the issue ends on a note that makes it look like it was supposed to be continued, but it wasn't.

Overall, I don't really even see why this issue existed at all. Was it supposed to be the first in a new "Brave and Bold" style team-up book? I just don't get this at all.

Fantastic cover, though. . .so there's that, I guess.

G.I. COMBAT FEATURING THE HAUNTED TANK (DC)

First. . .Another awesome cover!

This 2010 one shot perfectly captures the feel of the old-school Haunted Tank stories I grew up on, both story-wise and with the sketchy art and muted colors. The story isn't anything fancy or outstanding, it's just another battle for the Haunted Tank crew. . .and that's what makes this great.

They didn't try to make big changes or an epic story, they gave us a great homage and paid due respect to the original material.  Very nicely done.

RED SONJA: VACANT SHELL (Dynamite)

The best part of this one shot is the fantastic Paul Renaud artwork.
Every panel on every page is a perfectly-executed piece of art. VERY nice!

That fantastic art is attached to a pretty average story, though. Sonja rescues the wrong person and through her actions causes the death and demonic possession of a town full of innocents. Then she makes things worse when she tries to make things right.

 It was interesting in that Sonja totally effed everything up and just sort of ended up skulking away at the end of the story, but the execution of the story was pretty dull overall.

Good taken with bad, this was a pretty good read, but easily forgotten.

LONE GUNMEN (Dark Horse)

I found this one shot to be pretty enjoyable, but a little confusing.

It seems to be tied more to the short-lived Lone Gunmen T.V. series that I had never seen, so I had to Wiki who Jimmy Bond and Yves Harlow were, as they weren't in the X-Files T.V. show or comic that I knew the Lone Gunmen from. So there's that. . .but it didn't stop the story from being pretty entertaining, with witty dialogue and sharp art that captured the likeness of the actors very nicely.

But the best part of this one shot. . .which actually looks like it was SUPPOSED to be the first issue of an ongoing, from what's written by the creative team in the back. . .was a single-page silent "story" about two of the Gunmen engaging in the quintessential nerd argument: Kirk VS Picard. The third jumps in and settles it with something everyone can agree on. . .Seven of Nine.

And if you don't get that, don't even bother reading this issue.  It's pretty much for nerds only.

BRUCE WAYNE: AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (Amalgam)

This mashup between Marvel and DC characters is a fun, frantic, all-out action fiesta!

Don't even bother trying to make sense of the story. It starts in the middle and ends on a cliffhanger. Just bask in the madness that was Amalgam and enjoy characters like Moonwing. . .a Dick Grayson mashup of Nightwing and Moon Knight.

The best thing about this craziness is the fantastic Cary Nord artwork. He makes what should be ridiculous look great!

All in all, this was a pretty fun issue, for a throwaway one-shot. It's full of comic cliche nonsense poking fun at comic cliche nonsense.

SCARECROW (DC)

One of a series of "New Year's Evil" one-shots focusing on DC villains.

In this story, Scarecrow escapes Arkham Asylum determined to break the lone witness who testified against him in court and landed him in custody again. . .a young handicapped woman. He goes to great lengths to achieve his ends, even offering her a chance to be his partner in crime and get revenge on those who belittled and bullied her. . .but in the end, it's she that breaks the Scarecrow.

I REALLY liked this story. It very nicely spotlighted the madness of Scarecrow as he became obsessed with his victim. The dark and twisted art fits the insanity in this story very well.

Overall, I thought this was a great little villain-centric short story and a nice hidden gem in my collection.

AND FINALLY. . .

CONAN: THE WEIGHT OF THE CROWN (Dark Horse)

I have to say right up front that this one shot is about as close as I've come to finding the perfect Conan (comic book) story.

It's a tale about Conan becoming a king, but it's not a King Conan story. It's about the FIRST time he became a king, when he was a young warrior just beginning his wanderings outside of his homeland. . .and he is a miserable failure at being a leader.

At first, everyone loves him because he's young and awesome and he keeps them safe. . .but as time goes by and he's more concerned with battles and parties than crops and plagues, his kingdom falls into disarray and misery. When the son of the previous king arrives with an army to take his revenge and his father's kingdom back, Conan just gives him the crown and rides away without a fight, knowing that he was the crappiest king ever.

I love that this story shows Conan as a loser. There are so many tales of his coming out on top due to sheer luck or skill on the battlefield. . .this story shows that his worst enemy is just day to day living outside of battle, and he is soundly defeated by it in the way no other enemy ever came close to.

Robertson's dark and extremely detailed artwork is perfect for this grim story. Probably one of the best depictions of Conan I've ever seen. Nicely done all around!  Highly suggested.

CONCLUSION

And there you have it. . .another fine little batch of Longbox Junk one shots.

Overall, I'd say there wasn't really a BAD one in the bunch.  The only one that came close was the Azrael/Question team-up.  My favorite this time around was clearly the Conan one-shot.

I'd suggest all of them, except maybe the Bruce Wayne and Azrael issues.  Bruce Wayne was fun and had great art, but it's more of a curiosity than an actual story.  The Azrael/Question issue just seems like it has no purpose in existing at all.

Coming Next. . .

Feel my pain as ANOTHER one of my favorite characters starts strong and then goes off the rails.

42 issues worth of Dynamite's Green Hornet.  Longbox Junk at its best AND worst.

Be there or be square!