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Shadows On The Grave #1

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    Ian Jane
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  • Shadows On The Grave #1



    Shadows On The Grave #1
    Released by: Dark Horse Comics
    Released on: December 14th, 2016.
    Written & Illustrated by: Richard Corben
    Purchase From Amazon

    Any time we get new work from Richard Corben it's a time to celebrate, particularly when it's new horror material! This latest mini-series from Dark Horse Comics sees the man in a big time return to form. It's an anthology series, with a recurring Denaeus (the 'distant grandnephew of Den') storyline unfolding in each issue. First up is a splash page hosted by Old Mag The Hag and Gurgy Tate that talks about some of the themes the series will deal with (“Husbands Galore” and “Swamp Trolls” to name only two!) and that explains why the series is in black and white.

    From there, we get our first story - Strung Along. Two boys, Emmit and Henry, take in a puppet show put on out of the back of an old truck way out in farm country. They and the rest of the onlookers laugh at the exploits of puppets Skeezy and Tweets but when it's all over the boys wonder just how and why the puppets were so lifelike. They're about to head home when they hear a weird noise come out of the back of the truck. Even though they need to get home, they can't help but go investigate and when they do, they learn the horrible truth about the show they've just enjoyed.

    Roots In Hell tells the tale of married couple Betty and Jack who just wanted to get away from it all. They fly their small two seater plane towards their island destination for the vacation they've both been looking forward to when they run into a nasty storm. They manage to land the craft on a small island in the middle of nowhere but the plane is a wreck, they won't by flying out of there anytime soon. They manage to set up shelter and are making the best of it. Things are going about as well as they can until Jack gets hungry and eats what he thinks is a mango. Oops.

    The third story, For Better Or Worse?, introduces us to a drunken abusive farmer named Jake Mekker and his put upon wife Zulia. They live in a remote farmhouse outside of town and it's here that Zulia poisons her husband having finally had enough of his abuse. The sheriff from town, Beauford, comes to visit, just to check in on them, and Zulia confesses to having killed her husband… who then walks around the corner and complains about being tired. A week later, Beauford pays them another visit. Again, Zulia tells him Jake is dead, but Beauford can see Jake working away in the field on the other side of the house…

    …which brings us to Denaeus: Dreams And Portents, the story of a distant relative of one of Corben's most famous creations. A woman, Grymora the Oracle, clad in a clock pressures her troll-like assistant, Turox, to help her traverse the Stony Trail. She insists they complete their journey before midnight. When they arrive, she can feel the ghosts coming and asks Turox for the Thanatos drugs before encouraging him to go hide lest they suck his blood. She ingests the drugs and begins to float, travelling towards a crumbling castle where she sees a murder take place. The culprit? An angry specter out to take revenge. The victim? Well the victim's identity causes her to scream in terror. Meanwhile in the village of Knoxnia a hulking young man named Denaeus prepares to celebrate King Akrorkos' birthday. His girlfriend Helena sends him on his way, warning him not to get into trouble with the girls. He hopes to win a position in The Knoxnia Elite Guard that will earn him enough money to buy a small farm and make Helena his wife. When Denaeus arrives and performs his feats of strength, he's accosted by the blind oracle…

    The first issue of this eight issue run is top notch stuff - a classic horror anthology that, like a lot of Corben's work, is clearly inspired by the classic E.C. Comics of the fifties but given the man's own bizarre underground comix touch. The black and white artwork is excellent. There's loads of detail in every panel and the layouts are creative, bizarre and sometimes quite humorous (particularly when Mag or Gurgy show up to intro/outro the stories). This is Corben in his element, doing what he does best by presenting darkly humorous stories of the macabre. The thirty-six pages in this issue breeze by, a complete blast to read. If future issues are half as enjoyable as this first one, we're in for a great run. Corben is back and better than ever!






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