Abandon Strip! Part Nine

A Halloween special edition of our weekly comics blog from Gallows drummer Lee Barratt, featuring gore, dead things and evil clowns. Textbook stuff.

Posted Wednesday, 3 November 2010 by Lee Barratt in

Blog

Hello again everyone. I'm writing this as the live action premiere of The Walking Dead has just finished and I have to say how impressed I was with it. It looks fantastic, the zombies are super-realistic and it's only going to get better and better. It hits UK screens on November 05 on FX so make sure you tune in!

Back to comics, though, and seeing as we just had Halloween weekend, I thought I'd delve in to a couple of horror titles currently on the shelves. First up is the new mini series 'Abattoir' (Radical). Created by Darren Lynn Bousman, who has directed a number of the Saw movies, Abattoir is exactly what you'd expect from someone behind the camera of that particular movie series. Within the first few pages we are treated to lashings of blood and gore as the basis of the story is set by writers Rob Levin & Troy Peteri. As you probably know, abattoir is another word for slaughterhouse and the writers pull no punches as a seemingly normal father goes on a murderous spree at his child's birthday party. If you have a fear of clowns then there's a great scene which will have you cheering and wincing at the same time! As the first issue progresses, the focus of the story switches to real estate agent Richard Ashwalt - another struggling family man trying to make ends meet. It's his almost impossible job to try and sell the "death house". Who in their right mind is going to want to buy a home with such spine-chilling history?

Bousman has made it clear in interviews that he wishes to create an iconic horror villain with 'Abattoir' and it's not long before we're introduced to the candidate. Step forward Jebediah Crone. Looking like a cross between Willy Wonka and Pennywise the Clown, Crone's appearance isn't over-the-top grotesque but you can feel the sense of foreboding from the very first frame he appears in. Our dear Jebediah wishes to buy the house but is knocked back by Ashwalt due to rules and regulations. It's about that time when shit really starts to hit the fan and we're left with our first look into how creepy and sinister Jebediah really is going to get… I'm not a fan of crazy gory movies but I can definitely sink my teeth in to comics of that type and I've been hooked by Abattoir after one issue. Can't wait to see what Jebediah Crone has in store next!

My other horror/supernatural title for the week is Baltimore, The Plague Ships (Dark Horse). Based on the original illustrated novel by Mike Mignola - the creator of Hellboy - 'The Plague Ships' transcends and expands in to a five-part mini series of which I've read the first three issues. The reader is thrust straight into the heart of the story as Baltimore is seen cutting his way through vampires in plague-stricken France shortly after the end of the first world war. It took me until the recap issue 2 to really understand the character a bit more as I'd never read the original novel but by the end of issue 3 I found myself engrossed by Mignola and co-writer Christopher Golden's story. Baltimore is not a traditional hero who you can warm to and his hard, cold exterior is often felt by his naive, female companion Vanessa as they travel to Italy to track down a major vampire. His empathy towards not only the vampire but also himself cuts through any relationship he may ever have and makes him a desperately bleak figure. Ben Stenbeck's art seems to compliment Baltimore's personality perfectly. Sketchy and scrappy at times but equally as compelling. There's some great work in there, especially when Baltimore's ship runs in to trouble at sea. If you were a fan of the original novel then I'm sure you'll dig 'The Plague Ships' a lot. If you're a newbie to the character like I was then make sure you pick up the whole series or do some back reading on the character beforehand to get the most out of this.

More next week when I'll be reviewing where it all started for The Walking Dead with the first volume, Days Gone By.

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