Cursed Comics Cavalcade #1: Spooktacular Reading for Halloween!

Swamp Thing in “The Spread” (Reviewed by Cody White)
Tim Seeley – Writer
Kyle Hotz – Artist
FCO Plascencia – Colors
Steve Wands – Letters

Seeley crafts a horrifying tale of science gone wrong as two scientists nearly create a mutant virus that threatens to overtake The Green with The Red. Only Swamp Thing possesses the skills to save the scientists from their fatal errors. Through the use of heavy exposition, Seeley manages to construct a deep sense of connection to Dr. Erin Wagner as she journeys through the terrifying depths of The Green. The feat is not to be understated in such a short story. Hotz manages to capture a sense of dread and terror as the familiar quickly crosses the uncanny threshold, leading the reader into the dark only to discover safety in the arms of the monstrous figure of Swamp Thing.

Batman in “Gorehound” (Reviewed by Cody White)
Gary Dauberman – Writer
Riccardo Federici – Artist
Sunny Gho – Colors
Steve Wands – Letters

In “Gorehound” we find a gorgeously rendered story with little substance. An elaborate serial killer on the loose with Batman in pursuit, the tale attempts to twist the horror convention of the sole survivor into a tired twist in which the sole survivor is the killer. The only real twist here is that the killer was captured alive as opposed to other similar narratives, but it lands flat. The art of Federici along with the colors from Gho is astonishing, though, and certainly worth the price of admission.

Wonder Woman in “Siren Song” (Reviewed by Cody White)
Vita Ayala – Writer
Victor Ibanez – Artist
Matthew Wilson – Colors
Clayton Cowles – Letters

The current trend to return Diana to magical roots continues here as we see Wonder Woman confront a Siren plaguing a small fishing town. Through a story of a cursed woman told to Diana by her mother, Ayala reconstructs the Siren myth as an allegory of the powerful nature of love and the dangers associated with the choice between empathy and selfishness. Here, the Siren is mobilized in a more modern conception, rather than returning it to Greek mythos, which seems an odd choice, but nonetheless, the message of the tale is powerful. The accompanying art style by Ibanez is a strong fit for such a story, with strong detailed features marking the Siren as shifting between the beauty of love and the horror of hate. The strong blue overtones provided by Wilson also give the story a sense of melancholy as well as mimic common horror genre lighting (Mary Severin, RIP, was known to have added many blue overtones while she was the primary colorist at EC Comics back in the 1950s).

Guy Gardner in “Life Sentence” (Reviewed by John Jack)
Kenny Porter & Riley Rossmo – Storytellers
Ivan Plascencia – Colors
Tom Napolitano – Letters

Guy Gardner’s vacation is halted by a distress call involving a dead ship approaching a populated area at dangerous speed, on it, he confronts the nature of what it means to be a Green Lantern. This story truly touched my heart in the way it painted Guy, often maligned as an inept idiot, as what he really is; a good man looking to do the right thing. I loved the moral of the story, and it’s one I will remember for some time

The Demon in “Yellow Jack” (Reviewed by Cody White)
Gabriel Hardman & Corinna Bechko – Writers
Gabriel Hardman – Artist
Trish Mulvihill – Colors
Clayton Cowles – Letters

Hardman and Bechko visit the Yellow Fever epidemic in 1853 New Orleans for another tale of sacrifice for Jason Blood. Recently freed of the Demon, Blood finds that Etrigan has found a new host, one afflicted by Yellow Fever, and is on a killing spree in the already devastated city. Blood works with the host’s wife to reclaim Merlin’s curse and free the husband, but Etrigan has more at work here than meets the eye. The implication that the new host was an abusive husband arises after Etrigan, safely back with Blood, snaps his former host’s neck as a kindness to the woman. Certainly an interesting addition to the saga of Jason Blood with Hardman’s art having a distinct EC Comics feel here.

Superman in “Strange Visitor” (Reviewed by John Jack)
Magdalene Visaggio – Writer
Minkyu Jung – Artist
Jordie Bellaire – Colors
Josh Reed – Letters

Mags Vissagio reveals a side of Superman we haven’t seen when he is manipulated by a Kryptonian villain into the equivalent of a man sleeping with a loaded handgun. It’s not easy to make the man of tomorrow look vulnerable but it is accomplished with aplomb in this story. My personal favorite of the issue.

Green Arrow in “The Monster in Me” (Reviewed by Nicholas Osborn)
Michael Moreci – Writer
Felipe Watanabe – Pencils
Jonas Trindade – Inks
Romulo Fajardo Jr. – Colors
Deron Bennett – Letters

In “The Monster in Me”, Oliver is forced to confront his inner demons during one of Emerald City’s worst heat waves. The stress of fighting as Green Arrow is getting to his head, and writer Michael Moreci uses his response to explore the nature of true horror…our own worst fears. The demon itself is representative of the voice in our heads that we all have, the one that tells us we aren’t good enough and the only answer is to quit. Black Canary mentions that Green Arrow is just a man, and his own inner demons call him nothing but a spoiled boy. These are the internal struggles of Oliver Queen simply visualized by a terrifying demon, but he is able to overcome these hardships because of his dedication to being a true hero. Overall, it’s a really spooky and entertaining story that fans of the Emerald Archer are sure to appreciate.

Black Lightning & Katana in “Mercy Killing” (Reviewed by Cody White)
Bryan Hill – Writer
Dexter Soy – Artist
Veronica Gandini – Colors
Carlos Mangual – Letters

In anticipation of his upcoming Outsiders series, Hill gets a little practice in with Black Lightning and Katana in “Mercy Killing”. The two heroes join forces to stop a Japanese demon from taking any more children and eventually overcome the demon, strengthening their bond in the process. Soy and Hill’s upcoming series has been getting a lot of hype lately and clearly, this was an attempt to continue the buzz. Soy’s art is sharp throughout, illustrating a range of skills, from monsters and action to serenity and compassion. The story itself was a good way to showcase the sort of personality we can expect to see from his cast but compared to other stories in the volume, it was lacking in the terror department.

Robin & Solomon Grundy in “The Devil You Know” (Reviewed by Cody White)
Dave Wielgosz – Writer
Christian Duce – Artist
Romulo Fajardo Jr. – Colors
Tom Napolitano – Letters

Wielgosz delivers a beautiful tale of love and redemption as Robin and Grundy team up to rescue three runaway girls from the clutches of Professor Pyg. It was a pleasure to see Grundy not simply as a mindless smashing force but also as a developed character in his own right, and Robin made an unlikely perfect pairing with Grundy, with his brashness swept aside for a change. Duce’s Demon-Man art for Professor Pyg was breathtaking.

Zatanna in “Halloween Hayride” (Reviewed by Cody White)
James Tynion IV – Writer
Mark Buckingham – Pencils
Andrew Pepoy – Inks
Jordie Bellaire – Colors
Deron Bennett – Letters

James Tynion and Mark Buckingham team up to bring a heartwarming story from the heartland as Zatanna helps a young girl discover the wonders of Halloween and thwarts the girl’s brother from ruining her holiday hayride. It was a lovely and well-crafted end to the collection. Buckingham is as sharp as ever and Tynion continues to develop into one of the most well-rounded writers in the DC bullpen.