"Wow, somebody finally did it."That was my first, and overriding, thought as I read the new magazine Doomed, from IDW Publishing. I just happened to see it in my local store, All Things Fun, on Friday. Being a fan of the whole comic/magazine format, I leafed through it, thought it looked kinda cool, and bought it.
So I just finished reading it, and while I did enjoy it, like I said my main feeling was more one of amazement. For years, I've had the idea in my head that someone should try doing a 21st century version of the classic Warren magazines like Creepy and Eerie. One of the main reasons the Warrens died was because they had just missed the explosions of comic shops and direct marketing, something Warren excelled at. I had always thought someone could put something together like that again, but with maybe a broader approach. In my more fanciful moments I dreamed I would just go ahead and put together such a magazine, and rope some of my writer and/or artist friends to help me, all Warren and/or horror fans as well. Not being a writer by trade or a sequential artist, the idea was a longshot at best, so it sort of stayed in the back of my mind.
But this new mag, Doomed, is pretty darn to close to what I had imagined. It has multiple stories, some adapted from classic authors like Robert Bloch and (my favorite!) Richard Matheson. It has two full-page front-and-ends-pieces featuring a mascot character, "Ms. Doomed", who is firmly in the Vampirella/Cain/Uncle Creepy tradition. It even has an old-school table of contents, plus DVD and book reviews.
The stories in this issue are hit-and-miss, but that didn't bother me. Without the cloud of nostalgia, I remember so were the Marvel and Warren mags. The opening piece, "Fat Chance", adapted from Bloch by Ted Abrams and Ashley Wood, is excellent, ghoulish fun, as is Matheson's "The Children of Noah", adapted by Scott Tipton and Nat Jones.
The third story, "Pelts", by F.Paul Wilson and James Owen, is a lot more amateurish and (to me) unnecessairily gory and drawn out, and the last story, "Visitation" isn't bad, but it doesn't match the first two efforts. The whole thing wraps up with an interview with author Jack Ketchum and his rememberances of his friend and mentor Robert Bloch.
The only thing(s) I'd say are missing is a strong editorial voice behind it, like the Warren and Marvel mags had, and I'd love to see a letters page (though maybe since this is only the third issue it's coming). And while the mag does deal with gruesome horror, it's nothing a teenager couldn't be exposed to, so the one lonesome F-word (in the interview portion) felt out of place to me.
But these are minor quibbles--for fans of classic comic book horror who still have their musty copies of Creepy, Dracula Lives!, and Monsters Unleashed, Doomed is a wonderful treat.
No comments:
Post a Comment