Deadbeats # 69
01/08/2005 . Source: Paul Skevington 
pub: Claypool Comics. 36 page standard comic. Price: $ 2.50 (US), $ 4.00 (CAN). edited, written and illustrated by Richard Howell. inker: Ricardo Villagran. letterer: Thom Zahler. check out website: www.claypoolcomics.com
'Deadbeats' is a comic concerned with one thing: vampires. Lots and lots of vampires of all different shapes and sizes. I want to be clear from the start, we're not talking Anne Rice here. We're talking late night movies, semi-naked ladies, bad haircuts and dodgy Romanian accents. And why not?
Issue 69 does not deviate from the previously established formula. There are two main plotlines. Firstly, there is Doctor Powell who hasn't seen his sister in decades due to her husband's possessiveness. His sister comes to him for help with her husband's terrible condition. Years ago, he made a deal with a devil (who looks a bit like Evil-Lyn from the old 'He-Man' cartoon series) for power and glory, unwisely not asking for a date with Angelina Jolie at the same time. As the years go by, the evil monster who is providing him with his supernatural chutzpah starts to slowly take over his body, biding its time when it can break out and do something evil. Like replacing someone's entire music collection with Barbra Streisand CDs or perhaps something equally nasty.
At the same time, we see a young man called Nikolas waking up from a three-way orgy. Cannily, he didn't even have to sell his soul to achieve this. Unbeknownst to him, a malicious psychiatrist is working with the vampires to bring his family into town in order to have a group meet in which his folks can tell him how much they hate him. Seemingly just so he'll be really depressed when the towns resident vamps chow down on him and make him the cornerstone of Count Dracula's (well he had to be in here somewhere didn't he) evil scheme. He will be The Fifth Vampire.
Make no mistake; this is a retro comic and then some. Like traditional super-hero comics of years past, characters don't speak, they declaim. Exposition is delivered in big weighty chunks, making sure that the reader knows exactly what is going on at all times. This isn't too hard as there isn't anything particularly complex or original going on here. Clichés abound, with magic symbols and sexy vampire ladies bouncing about everywhere causing havoc. The writing cultivates the soap-opera aesthetic to such a degree that you start to wonder if it isn't running on some network channel somewhere. This is even evident in the artwork. Sometimes it appears as if the characters are aware of their unseen audience and mug for them accordingly!
Howells' artwork is nicely tuned to the silly flamboyance of his writing. It may be a little old-fashioned but it's charming, too. I especially like the de-clothed flight attendants. Well done that man! His work has a sense of movement and fluidity to it that I think is essential to any action-based comic. It won't win any awards but it's perfectly appropriate in the context of the book. Of particular note is the confrontation between Nikolas and his family, which is remarkably well laid out. The panels on pages twenty and twenty-one are also good, playing with pace and perspective in an effective and involving way.
Ricardo Villagran's inking is mostly good, although it could do with being slightly clearer in places and is perhaps not always supporting the art as well as it should. Thom Zahler again proves he's a highly competent letterer.
I enjoyed this issue as much as I have any other issue of 'Deadbeats', although I am aware that it couldn't really be taken seriously as a piece of art. As always there is room to improve. At the moment, it's a fun but forgettable read. I'd like to see Howell elaborate more on his characters in a similar way to that which he is trying to do with the Nikolas plot-line. A little more realism and a little less hysteria would have made these scenes much better. Depth is often lacking in the work, addressing some real human issues could provide this and support the fluffy framework of the comic. Perhaps I'm missing the point though, as in doing this it might lose some of the unique qualities the title does possess.
I'm still keen to see what Howell does with 'Deadbeats' and in what direction he takes it. It's a series I'll gladly stick by, until the possibly bloody end because, after all, who doesn't love semi-naked flight attendants? Oops, I've already mentioned them, haven't I?
Paul Skevington |
|
Add SFcrowsnest.com daily news updates to your
own web site or blog - just cut and paste the code
below...
POST YOUR COMMENTS  CLICK HERE TO HAVE YOUR SAY
|
