Merry Christmas
From Hulk, Rulk (that would be the new red Hulk) and Extra Sequential, have a massively Merry Christmas and great new Year. We hope you get all the presents you want.
Impaler #1 Review
Vampires have had their fair share of the pop culture spotlight in the last few years, thanks to TV’s Buffy and Angel, novelist Anne Rice and now, Twilight. The crafty neck biters have had more makeovers than Madonna. But there’s still some life, so to speak, in the critters.
Impaler is a new series from Top Cow and is written by William Harms, who created the series at Image back in 2006. You can read my interview with the writer here. A Trade Paper Back collecting the original Image series, with 3 new issues is now available, and now we have this series, which is effectively Volume 2. However, if you haven’t read the original series, don’t fret. This still makes sense. Basically, Vald Tempes, otherwise knows as Vlad the Impaler has been fighting vampires for 4 centuries with angelic abilities given to him by a priest. When the fanged horde return in today’s New York, Vlad takes sword in hand and gets to work once more. This time, he teams up with grieving cop Victor Dailey, as well as the US Army. However, despite their superior firepower they aren’t looking victory square in the eye. Even a bomb can’t stop the suckers.
This is a well rounded, action packed tale. Perfect for comic book newbies. With its engrossing tale and dynamic artwork, it really packs a punch. There are numerous scenes of limbs and heads flying off bodies, and a lot of swearing. So, it’s not for the kiddies.
Harms knows how to pace a tight adventure, leaving the reader out of breath after the last page. The conflict between the high-tech soldiers and the barbaric creatures of the night is the highlight, and seems like a blockbuster film just begging to be made. There’s enough exposition to get up to speed and Vlad and Victor’s strained relationship seems to mirror the larger events surrounding them. There’s the obligatory scene of a soldier getting bitten, but shrugging it of as a minor wound; the kind of thing we see in every zombie film. Generally though, this is a refreshing look at this often used, and mis-used sub-genre. Matt Timson’s art helps enormously too. His realistic pencils lie somewhere between Adi Granov (Iron Man) and Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night). His page design and use of space, with rooms crowded with vamps and army men, or open areas in the blanketing snow really draw in your eyes and add variety to the look of this issue.
This reminded me of playing Doom IV, or F.E.A.R on my XBOX, with a sense of danger that you can’t shrug off. Fans of horror tired of wispy vampires that look like they’re fronting a rock band must offer their neck to Impaler and let it sink its fangs in.
You can read a preview of this issue here.
The Gallery: Kade Rising Sun #1
Arcana Studios’ most recognisable character is back. Kade: Rising Sun launches on Christmas and follows the ancient warrior/demon hunter as he travels to the Land of the Rising Sun in search for his lover Ezra, who Kade hopes has returned from the dead.
The four issue series also guest stars Shi. Created by writer/artist Billy Tucci Shi is a Japanese/American warrior on a bloody path of vengeance, while facing the inner conflict of her Catholic upbringing.
Preview art from the first issue is available at the link below. The mini-series is written by Kade creator Sean O’Reilly, with Jay Busbee. Tucci provides the art for the cover shown here, while C.Duce provides the interior art.
