LOUIS’ SERIOUS ISSUES >> 10.30.06

Scouring out the weekly singles scene ... in comics! Welcome, Issueists! It’s been two weeks since the last SERIOUS ISSUES and some of you have asked if it’s supposed to be bi-weekly, weekly or what. Now that I'm fully acclimated to my new job and the scheduled rigors therein, I’m aiming for weekly. DARKMAN VS. ARMY OF DARKNESS #1 (Dynamite) It’s good to see Darkman back in action. The movie is, to this day, still one of my favorites and it kinda seems like a no-brainer to team him-up with that other Sam Raimi creation, Ash, from the EVIL DEAD series. This first issue is all set-up: Darkman’s ex finds the Necronomicon, and accidentally summons some demons and Ash as well. It’s a bit of an obvious way to start things off, but to see Darkman fighting off Deadites is just too cool. I only hope Dynamite draws the line here to prevent other Raimi team-ups, sparing us FOR LOVE OF THE GAME VS. ARMY OF DARKNESS. AMERICAN SPLENDOR #2 (DC/Vertigo) I’m not sure if this is a limited series or not. Some sites mention that it’s a six-issue run, others are saying it’s ongoing. Dear Lord, please let it beongoing. The brutally honest, darkly funny stories from Harvey Pekar’s life continue, this time with art work from Richard Corben, Chandler Wood and Leonardo Manco, among others. Pekar’s stories – in this issue dealing with a clogged toilet, finding a pair of glasses, passing inspection at a service station – are definitely an acquired taste, but delicious nevertheless. Always recommended. THE IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #1 (Marvel) For the past few months, Robert (THE WALKING DEAD, MARVEL ZOMBIES) Kirkman’s take on Ant-Man as being the ultimate a-hole superego has been hyped as the next SHE-HULK. Is it? No. It wants so bad to be funny, but it falls flat on its face repeatedly, to the point where you feel kind of embarrassed for all parties involved. Basically, the Ant-Man costume is stolen by a S.H.I.E.L.D. sentry who wants to be a superhero, except he has low morals. That should be great fodder for laughs, but it constantly slips into routine backstory and confusing twists that do not benefit a book like this in any way. I don’t know if I’ll buy a second issue. DORK #11 (Slave Labor) Evan Dorkin’s non-linear, rapid-fire collection of bizarre twists on the usual jokes has been the funniest comic book ever for the past five years. Nothing but series after series of unrelated, side-hurting hilarious strips, done in a sort of post-apocalyptic Bazooka Joe way. Not only is the re-reading value of this infinite, but it’s the type of book you pass along to friends to introduce them to. ROAD TO HELL #2 (IDW) Boy, am I fucking lost in this one: A group of kids gets stuck in a town that doesn’t appear on a map. It’s got kids playing with corpses, always-shifting roads and billboards for variations of products we’re familiar with. And zombies of a sort. Is it literally Hell? Is it a post-apocalyptic time-warp? I don’t know. Maybe it’s like that town in that Chevy Chase/Dan Aykroyd atrocity NOTHING BUT TROUBLE. That’s it. That’s gotta be it. A $3.99 an issue, that better be it. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET #1 (Wildstorm) I guess DC’s WildStorm imprint is now doing the Freddy comic, taking it off of Avatar’s hands. Boy, this license gets passed around more than a stripper at a Duke lacrosse party, But, at least in this case, it seems to be paying off: The price has dropped a dollar, the artwork is vastly improved and the arc written by Chuck Dixon seems to be aiming for something higher than “let’s get some girls in panties then slice them up.” It’s a promising new title. –Louis Fowler Discuss it in our forums.