SCARY TALES #36 – First story: boring art by Studio Recreo, boring writing by Joe Gill. I’m writing this ten minutes after reading the story and I can’t remember what it was about. Second story: much like the first except that the artwork, by Pat Boyette, is a little better. Third story: gorgeous artwork by Tom Sutton. The story, by Tom Tuna — which is apparently a real name, not a pseudonym — is basically an excuse for Sutton to draw a bunch of bizarre Lovecraftian creatures, which he is extremely good at. Grade: C but would have been a D- if not for the Sutton artwork.
NORTHLANDERS #15 – I’m still not getting into this series. There is some good stuff here — in particular, there’s one pretty amazing page showing the protagonist’s shocked reaction when he hears some bad news about his daughter — but it’s basically a lot of blood, gore and emotional trauma, with very little subtletly. There is also a bizarre lacuna in the narrative, where the hero goes from being tied up with a rope around his neck, to being free, with no explanation; I assume this would have made more sense if I’d read the preceding issues. I believe this is the last unread issue of Northlanders I had, and I won’t make any special effort to seek out any more issues. Grade: B-
GOD THE DYSLEXIC DOG #4 – I admit it, I’m reading bad comics because I’m too tired to read anything that requires mental effort. Like the previous issue, this one has gorgeous artwork by Alex Niño, but a completely incoherent and unintelligible story. I think the writers were trying to be Kirbyesque or something, but they failed; this story is just a confused muddle that goes nowhere. Grade: A+ for art, F for story, for an average of C
The Ogre's Feathers 