Tales of the Outerverse with Cojacaru the Skinner

This issue is an okay jumping in point to sample this universe. After rereading both issues and grooving to this Evil Dead style narrative, I’ll have to revisit the other works to remind myself of all that’s transpired. 

Cojacaru the SkinnerBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Dark Hose Comics
Available Now

Masters of Comic Book Horror Mike Mignola and Chris Golden have an alternate history fantasy horror universe I’d love to see get a cinematic treatment. There were plans for it once, but it was abandoned; nothing’s been done to bring it back into production since. Their series which began with Baltimore (2007) has everything I’d love to see when turning World War II into a Weird War.

Anyone who knows Joe Golem will have a leg up, and coming soon is Imogen of the Wyrding Way and The Golem Walks Among Us. With Cojacaru the Skinner #2 out today, this two issue mini-series makes a lot more sense than as individual issues.

This seminal hero is a different type of King Arthur. She’ll arise from the dead (in Europe’s darkest hour) to defeat the dark forces that’s tearing this continent apart. The Nazis are well known for their interest in using the supernatural to conquer the world and I’m loving how Mignola and Golden have a concept that’s reminiscent of Sergei Lukyanenko‘s Night Watch.

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Sharkasaurus, A Graphic Novel Review

Image result for sharkasaurusBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Based on the 2014 short film of the same name, Sharkasaurus is also a graphic novel. This fun thrilled romp has all the hallmarks of an enjoyable B-film of the 50’s. Those monsters back then did not have the help of today’s CGI technology to realize in glorious 3D or realistic proportions. Usually, they were puppets carefully brought to life through stop-motion or marionettes. Flash forward to the print medium, none of that will matter. Those who saw the video will find a huge difference and none of that truly matters when in the desert, nobody can hear your distant scream and mistake that for a screeching hawk.

The book expands on the material from the book and greatly expands on why such a land shark exists. Also, Alice Monroe is set up as the would-be heroine. I do not want to give away the entire story. Here, she and her mate Frankie are in an archaeological excavation to unearth clues to another Proterozoic species said to roam the earth. Along the way, Creationists led by Reverend Peter Matthews and his daughter (she’s not immediately named) object to the rewriting of more than just “the scripture.” He’s your stereotypical evangelist, and quite laughable to say the least. Will he get his just desert in the dessert? The video answers that very easily, and what this dinosaur symbolizes is nothing like Devil Dinosaur (Marvel Comics). Godzilla? Maybe.

Continue reading “Sharkasaurus, A Graphic Novel Review”

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