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Alice Cooper: Welcome To My Nightmare (Hardcover)
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- Published: 08-19-2015, 08:30 AM
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Alice Cooper: Welcome To My Nightmare (Hardcover)
Released By: Dynamite Comics
Release Date: August 26, 2015
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The Story:
Many people know the story of the man known as Alice Cooper, born Vincent Fournier, lead singer of a group known as Alice Cooper, who then went on to a successful solo career. But what many people don't know is that Alice's success and impressive stage show was largely the result of a deal with the Devil. Well, not REALLY the devil, but a devilish little demon named Lucius Black.
True story...after a near-fatal mishap with an electric chair in 1975, Lucius stepped in to guarantee a severely freaked out Alice that under his management, the stage shows would be more lavish with nary a worry about fatalities. What Alice didn't realize was that the contract was forever binding, locking his body and soul eternally to Lucius and his evil ways. In this present day, Alice spends his time offstage by helping Lucius to sign other naive artists to similar deals, a shadow of the rock superpower he once was. But when a recent contractual prospect and pop sensation recognizes the Coop, gushing unapologetically about his love for the man, Alice is reminded of his past-life greatness and decides to turn on Black, with his contract the only obstacle on the way to his freedom.
Meanwhile, in a small town, a young boy named Robbie buys an Alice Cooper record at a garage sale, a thrilling purchase for the young lad that is soured when he is intercepted on the way home by Bart the bully. Bart has no love for the vinyl, and wastes no time snapping it smartly in two. Robbie, however, with his sister in tow, decides to try to play the record anyhow, which somehow works...as the record mends itself and begins playing backwards. While the music doesn't sound too swell to the youngsters' ears, it does have the odd side-effect of pulling Alice's soul from Lucius' grasp; and depositing said soul into Robbie's bedroom. Realizing that he is temporarily free from Lucius' ownership, Alice tries to negotiate his freedom from his new master, but Robbie first wants the Lord of Nightmares to help him scare Bart from his bullying ways. Things don't go quite as well as planned, though, and Alice finds himself and his charges in The Nightmare Place; once his home, but certainly no place for small children.
That's the premise of the story contained in the first 2/3 or so of Dynamite's new trade...erm...hardcover, Alice Cooper: Welcome To My Nightmare. Originally appearing as five single issues that wrapped up earlier this year, the first thing that should be noted here is the artwork, which is absolutely stellar. Eman Casallos knocks it right out of the park, with a dark but incredibly detailed depiction of the horror of Alice and The Nightmare Place. For somebody not normally knocked out by comic art, I can say that I've never been this impressed by illustration...these five issues are worth the price of admission for the story alone. THAT being said, writer Joe Harris has taken some interesting ideas...a whole lot of them, in fact...and pieced together a story that never quite delivers. There are far too many things going on in these books to allow the reader to hold interest in any of them, and the narrative contains too much of what I would describe as old man Alice talking about how cool he was back in the day, with numerous references to his importance in the rock n roll world. And as a huge fan of Alice's early works, I agree...he was important. But we don't need to be reminded of that every page, and it unfortunately causes the product to sound like it was commissioned by Alice himself as a self-promotion of his ego. All of that being said, though, reading the issues together in this format does make the writing slightly more cohesive than it seemed than with the single issues.
For some reason, even though the story appeared to have been told, Dynamite came back with issue six of their Alice Cooper run, a "done in one tale of terror", which at least manages to pick up right where issue five left off. 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, 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 audience 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.
Switching out both writer and illustrator for the final book in the series was an odd choice, and it's definitely more glaring when presented in a package with the original run. To be honest, writer Brandon Jerwa's storyline 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 first five books 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 the power of 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, and it helps end the series on a high note.
This new presentation of Dynamite's Alice Cooper comics also includes the numerous covers that were done for the original issues, and a super-sweet bonus..."Stan Lee Presents Alice Cooper: From The Inside". This is the original Marvel comic from October of 1979. Based on Alice's album of the same name, this book is a blast from start to finish, from the story to the artwork....a real treat to read. And with the issue selling separately for a decent chunk of change, it's pretty damn awesome to have it included.
The Final Word:
Though the storyline through the first five issues of Dynamite's Alice Cooper run grates on the nerves here and there, the artwork is fantastic. Add in a fun sixth issue and that 70's Marvel issue, and you have yourself a pretty winning package. If you're a fan of the Coop, it's more than likely already on your radar, like poison running through your veins.
Tags: comic books, horror, review, comics, alice cooper, trade paperback, hardcover, nacho tenorio, dynamite, shock rock, joe harris, eman casallos, welcome to my nightmare, nightmare, brandon jerwa, terror, snakebite, dragontown, trash, poison, hey stoopid, from the inside, marvel, premiere, october, 1979, nurse rosetta
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