In this week’s Wednesday Comics Reviews, the team reviews the scary holiday comic Yuletide, another great launch from DSTLRY with Endeavour, a dystopian tech future in Terrorbytes, and more! Plus, FOC Watch and The Prog Report!
Yuletide #1
Writer: George Northy
Art: Rachele Aragno
Colors: Michelle Madsen
Letters: Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Tyler Smith
Publisher: Oni Press
Review by Clyde Hall
Turns out that Santa Claus, Indiana, has nothing on Christmas, Pennsylvania. Or even Kingston Falls, comes down to it. In this week’s premiere of the three-issue series Yuletide, Oni Press has created a palliative for all those suffering beneath the annual fever of holidays vying for ‘Ber months retail shelf space. If you’ve ever balked at how commercial interests effectively smersh Halloween straight into Christmas, there’s a lot to like in this trick-or-stocking-stuffer-treat from George Northy and Rachele Aragno.
Young Jake Valverde is an involuntary resident of Christmas, PA, a town which has embraced the holiday spirit of its name and become an extension of Noel, a veritable branch community of the North Pole. The Christmastide merch found only at certain times of the year in chain stores, the commerce outlets of Christmas stock all year round. It’s Holiday World sans the rides, and Jake? He’s all egg nogged out.
While his older sister Sammie gets crowned Yule Queen and the Mayor’s son, Griff Holly, the Yule King as the official start of the shopping season, Jake is having Scrooge-rants and speaking truth to the powers of Big Christmas retailers in the town. He wasn’t always that kind of kid, it turns out. But the holly and jolly fun dimmed for him after his father’s death and as his mother struggled to hold their family together.
Jake’s best friend, Abe, is Jewish. And being sheltered from the attractive Gentile trappings of Christmas by strict parents, Abe secretly loves everything merry and bright. They make an odd duo, but both are tolerant of their differing views of the yuletide season.
The partnership turns into an unconventional trio when they’re joined by new girl in town Wyn. Her Uncle Kris runs one of the many holiday-themed shops, Santaland, but also maintains a secret basement level he calls the Midwinter Monster Museum. There one can find displays about the lesser-known winter folklore of Yuletide.
Forget Elves on Shelves and Frosty. Instead, represented here are the Yule Cat, the Grey Mare Mari Lwyd, as well as Perchta and the Yule Father along with their Seelie and Unseelie forces. Traditions from a time when winter was seen as an ongoing battle between the long season of Night and the hope of spring’s oncoming Light.
These are notions which soothe Jake’s cynical heart. Even Abe’s intrigued. But when an ancient artifact in the secret basement threatens to bring the darkest of those folklore creatures across the veil and into our world, terror ensues. It’s enough to make even the biggest humbug welcome the return of all those harmless Hallmark Christmas movies. What comes next is Hocus Pocus colliding with Nightmare Before Christmas, all tucked beneath a Krampus rampant fruit cake glaze.
Writer George Northy lays down the holiday references thick as graham cracker drywall for a life-size gingerbread house. The wry sarcasm from Jake in opposition to the Holiday Industrial Complex will bring smiles, maybe even chuckles. Because it’s an integral part of the over-the-top approach, examining the commercialization of the holidays in contrast to their olden times trappings. And it works. Think of the book’s tone as a spoof on a Christmas Special. Just one hosted by Ash Williams instead of Andy.
Rachele Aragno’s art pulls an inviting Santa Clause effect. Her style makes both the human characters and the fantastical ones compatible in a shared reality adventure. Just as in that classic film where flying reindeer and E.L.F.S. (elves with attitude) blended into the everyday world as if they belonged. But here a housecat large as a house and a bony horse headed phantasm seem just as solid as Jake and company.
The question a title like Yuletide begs with some, including parents considering its appropriateness for young readers, is how much it slams the Christian elements of Christmas or celebrates the paganistic concepts of the midwinter monsters. The answer here is, it doesn’t do either of those things.
The storyline takes commercialism and the celebration of the almighty Christmas retail sales to task, not the holiday itself. And it shows the dark sides of those Yuletide traditions from ancient days along with the magical forces of weal struggling against them. As always, parents should read the book first and then decide on its suitability for their young ones based on age and maturity. I think most will find the creative team’s delivered an excellent story which feels like a horror/fantasy companion piece to folklore centric fare like Rise of the Guardians.
The release of Yuletide is perfect timing, too. This first issue hits stands while the real world battle for shelf space rages, present focus on the scary but with pre-Christmas shopping spree vibes charging the air. The third and final issue will arrive at the height of the holidays, making a comic book bridge between both seasons with characters caught in a fray, a conflict mirroring our own hectic year’s end rush. It’s good marketing for a humorous and horrific tale sure to please those who enjoy a festive versus foreboding ‘spirits of the season-in-conflict’ story.
Terrorbytes #1
Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: Felix Ruiz
Colorist: Fran Gamboa
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Publisher: Mad Cave Studio
Review by Jordan Jennings
Mark Russell is one of the most gifted satirist in comics today and Terrorbytes #1 showcases that talent. The issue focuses on Ted Hawks, a pastiche of the various venture capital tech CEOs that have been plaguing the world the past decade, as he pitches the Final Daze VR headset/implant to investors. Meanwhile, the story itself is framed by a story set 1000 years into the future as robots look over the ruins over our world trying to solve the mystery of why they are examining Earth.
With the focus of the issue being on Hawks, Russell is obviously making commentary about the Neuralink and other similarly proposed devices as well as the “Disruptor” mindset. Russell is not subtle about his thoughts on the Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world. The focus of the issue is literally Hawk’s pitch juxtaposed alongside the unethical nature of the technology. Russell knows writers that use subtlety and thinks they are all cowards. I applaud that from him, honestly. Most satire fails to play up the absurdity of the target, often leading to the opposite effect. It’s quite clear that Hawks is a bad person.
The comic veers into dark comedy multiple times that is quite effective. Hawks’s final fate is delightfully macabre and brings the story full circle. Literally. It is a clever use of story structure from Russell. The literal story loop just hammers the point home with a sledgehammer, but a beautiful sledgehammer from heaven.
The art by Felix Ruiz is very effective in the issue. Let’s be clear, this is largely a talking heads comic which makes sense given the emphasis on the visual contrast between words and panel. That contrast is essential to the success of the issue. For example there is a moment where Hawks attempts to justify his ethics with fire ant deaths but only for that to come back to bite him in the most visceral way. The impact of that moment is dependent on the dark and beautiful imagery from Ruiz. On top of the contrast between language and imagery, Ruiz places visual gags throughout the issue that have to be perfect to nail the jokes. For instance, when showing the ad for the Final Daze pricing, instead of saying “Subscription” price it states “Subscryption,” an obvious dig at the subscription and cryptocurrency mindset of the venture capitalist. It is not just word play and dark mirrors of our society, simple gags like the googly eyes on N8, the robot from the future, that adds levity to a somber moment. It’s the small things that make the issue sing.
While far from perfect (the framing device feels disjointed with the rest of the book, but will surely pay off later), Terrorbytes is a darkly funny and entertaining read. The layering of the jokes alongside well-detailed and, at times, visceral, art makes for a must read. Check this book out.
Endeavour #1
Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artist: Marc Laming
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Publisher: DSTLRY
Review by Khalid Johnson
When will we learn from the mistakes of the past? Inviting the comparison to the Titan submersible almost instantly, Endeavour #1 sets sail on the open seas for a tourist trip begging the question of navigating histories.
Without critical engagement we are simply destined to repeat the mistakes of those who come before. Aboard the titular ship (a commercial replica of it) Endeavour, families have paid good money to experience a tourist’s version of the ship whose expedition saw plague and colonization, with characters flattening that legacy to it being “complicated” until they have to come face-to-face with it.
That aside, written by Stephanie Phillips, the character work here is phenomenal; our central family is navigating loss before the sea inevitably confronts them with it again and it works incredibly well for building the tension with the art of Marc Laming really selling the emotion of the characters and giving us gorgeous panels to take in with the colors of Lee Louhridge giving things an almost idyllic pop.
This is a more quiet first issue, inviting the reader to get to know the characters before things go sideways and do they go sideways. I also want to highlight the overall presentation of this issue in the way it’s broken into chapters, the introductory text at the start of chapters and the letters of Tom Napolitano really make this sing. I think Endeavour is well worth your time especially if you fell down the Titan rabbit hole like I did this summer.
FOC Watch
The following comic is currently available for pre-order.
Devil on My Shoulder #1
Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Piotr Kowalski
Colorist: Brad Simpson
Letterer: Joshua Reed
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Due Out: Nov. 26
Review by Zack Quaintance
This comic opens with the following line: They told me my name was dogshit.
Given the background of the creative team (more on that shortly), I thought this might be a line that would be played for a laugh. But it wasn’t. Quite the opposite, and as a result, this comic was not quite what I was expecting, although that was more on me than the book itself. This book is from the creative team of writer Kyle Starks, artist Piotr Kowalski, colorist Brad Simpson, and letterer Joshua Reed. The artist and writer have previously worked together on the (very underrated) series, Where Monsters Lie, which is horror with some laughs to it.
In fact, most (but not all) of Starks’ work tends to have laughs to it. So, I thought I knew what to expect here. But as it turns out, Devil on My Shoulder #1 is much darker than past Starks-Kowalski collaborations, driven as it is by a story of severe torture and revenge. In fact, it’s much darker than the vast majority of comics I’ve read this year. It’s a harsh story, to be sure.
And be warned, when this comic hits its darkest points, it’s very disturbing. The story follows a woman who is kidnapped, held, and severely abused by a group of young men in just about every way, for a period of weeks. We get a montage of that abuse, and it’s tough to stomach. The art (which is very strong throughout) plays the torture in an almost even-handed way that makes it hit harder. It’s not sensationalized or stylish at all. It’s just what’s happening, and it’s terrible.
But this is a revenge comic, and so plumbing these depths of abuse is presumably going to set up the tale of retribution that is to come. And if you’re interested in that kind of story, this first issue gets all the right pieces in place. Just be warned — it’s not for the faint of heart, not even a little bit.
The Prog Report
2000AD 2454 (Rebellion Publishing): I’ve mentioned a couple times in this space that I often struggle with Rogue Trooper stories. It’s not that I don’t like the character, necessarily (I loved Blighty Valley…but who didn’t?), but rather that many of his stories feel a bit same-y to me. Upon closer examination, I can usually find something in them that sets them apart, but it takes work. This current Rogue Trooper story, however, is not like that even a little bit, as you can probably tell from this week’s cover. Titled Rogue Trooper: Ghost Patrol, the story is written by Alex De Campi (who is always up to something interesting in her comics), illustrated by Neil Edwards, colored by Matt Soffe, and lettered by Jim Campbell. There’s a bit of subterfuge and misdirect going on in this story, which is on par with the usual war storylines we get from Rogue, yet it’s being used (especially in this chapter) to create some great visual variety. And like some of my favorite Rogue stories, it’s also centering a lot of its action on characters around Rogue, rather than Rogue himself (who is always going to survive and probably also accomplish whatever it is he’s tasked with, let’s face it). Anyway, this is all to say I’m really enjoying Rogue Trooper: Ghost Patrol, and it gets my hearty recommendation. This week’s cover (above) is by Neil Edwards. As always, you can pick up a digital copy of The Prog here. —Zack Quaintance
Column edited by The Beat’s reviews editor, Zack Quaintance.
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