Comic Review: 'Formera' Vol. 1

Formera Vol. 1 TPB
Written and illustrated by Andrew Dobson
Alterna Comics
Cover price: $9.95; Available Now

So imagine this: You fall from the sky smack down in the middle of an ocean, that's how it starts. You're then rescued by a girl, looks more or less your age, fair hair, has the whole survivor look going for her/against her (points of view I guess). There you are, soaked, on a boat with Jane Savage talking gibberish and with no clue where you are or how you got there. That's the plot of Formera...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Comic Review: Birth TPB and Novo #1-3

Birth TPB and Novo #1-3
Written and Created by Michael S. Bracco
Alterna Comics
Birth: Cover price: $8.00; Available Now
Novo: #1-3, Cover price: $3.00; Available Now

Hot alien sex, cool monsters, wild alien technology, huge, bloody war scenes, a progeny, and a world's fight for survival.

You had me at hot alien sex.

One world. Two species. A planet divided. Will they destroy one another or work together to solve their mutual problem? Michael S. Bracco starts his epic with the graphic novel Birth. Alterna Comics then publishes issues 1-3 following the journey of the offspring Novo.

Although it's 88 pages Birth is a swift, smooth read. Take your time and take it all in though because Bracco chronicles the story of a world that has come to its penultimate epoch, thus creating its one chance for salvation, Novo. In it there are whole pages devoted to small single panels that not only show the passage of time and space, but also evoke emotion. Bracco's backgrounds seem especially influenced by manga and they have a very alive, flowing feel. The art seems more etched than drawn. The covers for both Birth and all the Novo issues are in color, however the interiors are all black and white. Whether it is natural or conformed, Bracco's style is perfect for the black and white medium. The waterfront battle scene is very graphic, but the black and white format absorbs some of the horror...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Comic Review: Ruin #1

SAVED BY ZERO
Can Black Zero redeem a ruined post-apocalyptic world?

Ruin #1 of 3
Written by Tom Pinchuk
Art by Mike Gallagher
Letters by Phaedra Gallagher
Alterna Comics
Cover Price: $3

Post-apocalyptic science fiction is always tremendously depressing.

Whether it's DC Comics Kamandi, or The Atomic Knights or Marvel Comics Killraven version of War Of The Worlds, or any of the hundreds of Earth-Conquered-By-Zombies comics currently available, the story unfolds in a predictable pattern:...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Comic Review: Alterna Tales Anthology #1

Alterna Tales Anthology #1
Written and drawn by Various artists
Alterna Comics
Cover Price: $3.50

Anthology titles have been used for a while to give new creators a spot to showcase their budding talent. The shorter stories give them a chance to spread their wings while not over stretching themselves. This title gives a look at some new talent that has a lot going for it and here’s hoping that they go on to better things.

Alterna Tales Anthology #1 offers up five short stories in the old horror comic/EC tradition. Some go for an Evil Dead humor/horror hybrid, and others just go for straight horror. And like most anthology titles some work better than others, but all of these offer the reader something different...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Comic Review: American Terror - The Confession Of A Human Smart Bomb #1

American Terror - The Confession Of A Human Smart Bomb #1
Written and Created by Jeff McComsey
and James Cooper
Art by Jeff McComsey
Alterna Comics
Cover Price: $3

It is now the year 2041. There is cheap and renewable energy for everyone, open border policies for everyone, and nuclear disarmament. But one old man remembers a very different time, a time before the War Of The Third World. A violent and unstable time at the dawn of the twenty-first century. This old man, who sits watching the last years of life drift by in a coffee house remembers back to one of his missions in his youth. Dressed in civilian clothing, and armed to the teeth, this unnamed man storms a party with only two names on his mind, and with every intention of blowing them away...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Comic Review: Mr. Puffinopolus #2

Mr. Puffinopolus #2
Written and Drawn by Christopher Petty
Inked by Cassandra Hall
Lettering by Peter Simeti
Alterna Comics
Cover Price: $3

Vordrex, Satan's right-hand man, has been sent to Earth to begin the reaping of children's souls. The kicker -- he's been sent in the form of a teddy bear and is now in possession of youngin' Davey. Vordrex, who has been named Mr. Puffinopolus by his new owner, sets right to work in an attempt to win Davey's soul when he tricks Davey into painting a pentagram in the basement as a way to get his hamster into Heaven. But Davey's mother discovers the Satanic emblem and swiftly escorts both Davey and a very unwilling Mr. Puffinopolus to the local church. Will the priest be able to exercise the demon from the stuffed animal and bring a quick end to Vordrex's mission?...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Comic Review: Spectrum #2

Spectrum #2
Written, Penciled, and Inked by Peter Simeti
Alterna Comics
Cover Price: $3

He should be dead. He thought he was dead. But Dr. Glass is somehow alive, although the medics in the morgue think otherwise. Glass awakens just before an autopsy is to be performed on him, and quickly escapes as he tries to remember the events of the night before, in which his lab partner was killed and his lab destroyed, all in the name of an experiment project called Spectrum. Now it appears, that very suit he was working on has become part of his body, and he realizes through the fog of his mind that his family is perilous danger. Meanwhile, the Sponsor, the financial backer of Spectrum, is setting out to tie up loose ends. His first task is to eliminate all ties to Glass, and using Glass's cell phone, sets out to destroy anyone with a connection to Glass.

In Spectrum #2, Peter Simeti returns with his one-man created comic here as he picks the story up right where he left Issue #1. His parallel time running story focuses on Glass and The Sponsor, as one tries to protect life and one tries to destroy it, bringing back to mind the stances that each character takes on science and research in the first issue. The story primarily focuses on Glass, and much of the story is told via internal monologue...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom

Comic Review: Spectrum #1

Spectrum #1
Written, Penciled, and Inked by Peter Simeti
Alterna Comics
Cover Price: $3

Dr. Glass. He's a scientist with a personal investment in the work on a revolutionary body suit that would help the paralyzed walk again. After 182 failures, Glass turns to a synthetic element, Translusium, that he believes that if bonded to the suit will finally make it work. His bold step works, and on try 182, he gets his success. Glass finds that the suit also has an unplanned side effect of being both flexible but incredibly tough, and has neural and nerve enhancement properties. But when the project's sponsors learn of the suit's properties, they immediately see the military functions for it and the profits it can bring. When Glass refuses to hand the suit over, the unnamed sponsors simply send their hired gunmen to retrieve the suit. Glass's two associates are quickly gunned down, and in an ensuing explosion, it is believed that Glass has died. Even Glass thinks so. But he is alive. In what condition he is in, and how he survived, is unknown to him, but he is still alive. And those responsible for tonight's attack will soon learn the true power of Project: Spectrum...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom

Comic Review: The Chair #1

Geeks of Doom has posted a new comic review written by reviewer extraordinaire Movies at Midnight, for The Chair -Issue #1, published by Alterna Comics.

You can read the review here.

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[Taking our cue from Teh Awesomeness over at Pink Raygun, we'll no longer be cross-posting our articles here but rather, linking directly to them. We invite you to come read 'em on our site. I hope y'all cool wit dat.]

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Cheers,
Dave3
[Webmaster- Geeks of Doom]

Comic Review: Morbid Myths

HIT AND MYTH
Alterna Comics presents a new horror anthology of uncommon quality.

Morbid Myths #2 -- $3
Edited by Chris Carpenter
Stories by Dale Mettan and Dwayne Biddix
Penciled by Dwayne Biddix
Inked by Gary Mitchell
Alterna Comics

There have been horror comic hosts as long as there have been horror comics.

There have been great horror comic hosts (such as The Crypt Keeper and The Old Witch in EC Comics), semi-great horror comic hosts (such as Caine from House Of Mystery and Abel from House Of Secrets over at DC Comics), horror comic hosts who really don't serve any useful purpose (such as Dr. Graves from the old Charlton comic The Many Ghosts Of Doctor Graves), and horror comic hosts that are only there because they were based on TV shows that had hosts (such as The Twilight Zone comics and the comic adaptation of Boris Karloff's Thriller).

The best of the horror comic hosts offer a narrative to introduce the story; tell us how we should feel about the “victim” of the story; (if we should feel sorry for the characters or if they deserve their fate) and then provide a kind of “closure” that gives the reader a sense of safety after they've just seen something terrible...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom