Shivering

Colder #4

Nimble Jack has kidnapped Reece into the dimension of crazy, and Declan has to find a way to get her out, all while making sure his body temperature, which drops every time he uses any of his special abilities, doesn’t fall below zero, which would be the point where he dies. He hitches a ride on a passing dog-phobic nutcase to track her into the other dimension, but runs into plenty of problems, including a horde of hellhounds, gigantic monsters, and Nimble Jack himself. Can Declan find Reece? Even if he can, will either of them be able to escape?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Brilliant imagery in this series — the design of the hellhounds is great, and the monsters formed of fingers and fangs are also magnificent. The characterization is good, too. The action is alright, but what this series does so well is weird horror and paranoia. Paul Tobin did some really interesting research on this project — check out some of it here.

Hellboy in Hell #3

Hellboy is, well, still stuck in Hell, learning more about his demonic family. He learns that his father, as punishment for creating him and giving him the Right Hand of Doom, has been frozen in a block of ice for millennia. He tangles with two of his brothers, intent on killing him, cutting off his hand, and claiming it for themselves. And he learns that he might’ve killed someone very important, and messed things up really badly.

Verdict: Thumbs up. The story is ominous and spooky, with Hellboy finding himself way over his head. And again, the real selling point for this one is Mike Mignola drawing Hellboy, so yeah, probably worth picking up.

Today’s Cool Links:

• We just got done talking about DC and Marvel using their phony-baloney trademark to quash competitors who don’t have money to fight back. Now the thugs at Games Workshop are doing the same thing, claiming they own the trademark on any use of “space marine” — but only when it means they don’t have to sue E.E. “Doc” Smith, Robert Heinlein, James Cameron, or id Software.
• It’s always good to hear when any of Fred Phelps’ kids escapes from the modern Hell of Westboro Baptist.
• Yeah, the comics industry has a severe diversity problem.
• A board game cafe? Yes, I’ll have one, please.
• This is the first time I ever wanted to watch Bob Newhart’s old “Bob” sitcom.
• When Dinosaurs ROCKED the Earth!