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Released By: Dynamite Comics
Release Date: February 18th, 2014.
Purchase From Amazon
The Story:
It's no secret that I was NOT a fan of the first five issues of Dynamite's Alice Cooper comic. Despite some outstanding artwork, the book was a mess, with multiple lame subplots skittering around and bumping into walls like confused children. So when book #6 showed up, I almost cried. Thankfully, it looks like the only thing that I'll be missing from the last run is the excellent illustration of Eman Casallos as this run features some new faces at the helm. So, how does it stand up?
Returned to his rightful place as The Nightmare Lord, things couldn't be going better for Alice Cooper. He's finally free of the Clan Black and their shady managerial ways, and free to rock his ass off nightly for his legions of fans in The Nightmare Place. Though he seems to be favouring material from his later albums such as Trash and Poison, the fans couldn't be more dedicated, even lining up outside of sold out venues in hopes of getting a ticket.
Despite all of the well-wishing and adoring going on, however, there seems to be somebody in the crowd with a sinister, ulterior motive; a hooded figure with glowing eyes and a demonic smile who goes by the name Thomas seems bent on stirring up trouble for the King of Shock Rock. Moving effortlessly amongst the crowd and taking on different appearances, he begins to plant the subliminal seeds of doubt throughout the crowd that (gasp!) Alice doesn't really care about his fans.
As Alice tours across the Nightmare Place to different gigs in Dragontown, Disgraceland, and Mill-E-Wah-Que, Thomas' influence grows and Alice's fans begin to turn on their hero. With his abilities to shape-shift making him damn near impossible to have thrown out by security, Alice needs to TCB in the only way he can; with the power of scary nightmare things and rock and roll. Victory could mean a triumphant return to the stage...but defeat will see him locked in The Quiet Room under the care of Nurse Rosetta.
To get the honesty part of the review out of the way first, writer Brandon Jerwa's storyline in this "done-in-one tale of terror" is not going to win any awards for complexity. From the reference to Alice's role in Wayne's World to the tour bus with the giant Alice head on the front (think Maximum Overdrive), it's pretty clear that this is not an overtly serious trip. And thank the Nightmare Lord for that, because the last run required flowcharts to follow. No, this is exactly what an Alice Cooper comic needs; it's a straight-up tale of Alice Cooper, rock legend, rocking out and using rock to fight his enemies while wearing makeup and a top hat. And while Eman Casallos definitely raised the bar on artwork in the last run, Nacho Tenorio does a more than adequate job here; his illustrations suit the mood of the story perfectly. There's nothing snooty or highfalutin going on in this book, it's just as fun as it should be.
The Final Word:
Dynamite, you're doing it right. Please keep at it.
