CALAVERA REVIEW
Review of Calavera the Undead #1 by Josh Reifler of RWG
Calavera The Undead #1Story & Art: Nevin Arnold
Publisher: Hangman Comics
Reviewer: J. Reifler
Thrills! Chills! Zombies! This week’s indie comic pick is Calavera The Undead #1 a self-published release by graphic designer and comic artist Nevin Arnold. This is a horror punk series with a tongue-in-cheek sensibility focusing on recently returned-from-the-grave spooky heroine Calavera. Part Tank Girl and Part Vampirella the series is a campy good read with excellent artwork to boot. While most books about the zombie apocalypse tend to be quite dour, this series carries itself with a sense of lightness and fun that feels more at home with Mad Magazine’s Harvey Kurtzman than Clive Barker.
Story: Calavera Padavona is having a bad day. Reanimated almost a decade after her death by the demon Baazedon, she’s returned to living only to find her apartment has been rented out and all her vinyl has been given away. Now tasked with saving the world from the evil Necromaster and his zombie apocalypse, Calavera must use her newfound powers to set things right before she rots away. Now infused with zombie ‘super powers’ including enhanced toughness and strength she must charge headfirst into the apocalypse in order to save the world she left behind all those years ago. But what dark secrets from her past will bubble to the surface once she returns to the living?
Calavera The Undead #1 doesn’t attempt to be anything more than an over-the-top good time and it succeeds in that respect. Nevin Arnold creates a cool yet slightly absurd main character and let’s her run amuck in a world turned upside down. The plot isn’t the most original but it succeeds in the way movies like Evil Dead 2 or Army of Darkness manage to make the gruesome sound comical. There are monsters and cartoon violence but it’s all presented in a fairly tame fashion. This is one of those books you chuckle while reading if only for the absurdity of the situation.
I love the art on this book. It’s campy yet modern and has a sick rockabilly feel to it. I’m reminded of older horror comics from days gone by like Eerie. It never veers too far into the grotesque being content to stop just short of that with a real tongue-in-cheek Harvey Kurtzman vibe. That is to say no one is ever really meant to be afraid as the world is more silly than horrific. There are moments of violence but the scenes are rather cartoonish and never become anything too intense for the squeamish. Design-wise Arnold has created a cool main character for his series. Calavera’s got the look and feel of a punk rock leading lady without becoming too sexualized. While her appearance is a bit risqué it’s more empowering than provocative and the author never presents her as anything but a fully competent and confident character. If anything the real villain in this book are the men who seem to underestimate her as their leers are met with powerful right hooks. Creeps get their comeuppance here and Calavera charges her way through the issue in a frenzy worthy of being the titular character.
As a huge fan of horror punk growing up (hey, I have all the Misfits and Cramps LPs) I found Calavera The Undead to be a humorously creepy good time. Hopefully the full series gets published and readers can find out if the zombie apocalypse has been averted! She has the potential to become an indie heroine on par with Tank Girl and the book is worth taking a look.
Calavera The Undead #1 - 9/10
Review of Calavera the Undead #1 by Josh Reifler of RWG
Calavera The Undead #1Story & Art: Nevin Arnold
Publisher: Hangman Comics
Reviewer: J. Reifler
Thrills! Chills! Zombies! This week’s indie comic pick is Calavera The Undead #1 a self-published release by graphic designer and comic artist Nevin Arnold. This is a horror punk series with a tongue-in-cheek sensibility focusing on recently returned-from-the-grave spooky heroine Calavera. Part Tank Girl and Part Vampirella the series is a campy good read with excellent artwork to boot. While most books about the zombie apocalypse tend to be quite dour, this series carries itself with a sense of lightness and fun that feels more at home with Mad Magazine’s Harvey Kurtzman than Clive Barker.
Story: Calavera Padavona is having a bad day. Reanimated almost a decade after her death by the demon Baazedon, she’s returned to living only to find her apartment has been rented out and all her vinyl has been given away. Now tasked with saving the world from the evil Necromaster and his zombie apocalypse, Calavera must use her newfound powers to set things right before she rots away. Now infused with zombie ‘super powers’ including enhanced toughness and strength she must charge headfirst into the apocalypse in order to save the world she left behind all those years ago. But what dark secrets from her past will bubble to the surface once she returns to the living?
Calavera The Undead #1 doesn’t attempt to be anything more than an over-the-top good time and it succeeds in that respect. Nevin Arnold creates a cool yet slightly absurd main character and let’s her run amuck in a world turned upside down. The plot isn’t the most original but it succeeds in the way movies like Evil Dead 2 or Army of Darkness manage to make the gruesome sound comical. There are monsters and cartoon violence but it’s all presented in a fairly tame fashion. This is one of those books you chuckle while reading if only for the absurdity of the situation.
I love the art on this book. It’s campy yet modern and has a sick rockabilly feel to it. I’m reminded of older horror comics from days gone by like Eerie. It never veers too far into the grotesque being content to stop just short of that with a real tongue-in-cheek Harvey Kurtzman vibe. That is to say no one is ever really meant to be afraid as the world is more silly than horrific. There are moments of violence but the scenes are rather cartoonish and never become anything too intense for the squeamish. Design-wise Arnold has created a cool main character for his series. Calavera’s got the look and feel of a punk rock leading lady without becoming too sexualized. While her appearance is a bit risqué it’s more empowering than provocative and the author never presents her as anything but a fully competent and confident character. If anything the real villain in this book are the men who seem to underestimate her as their leers are met with powerful right hooks. Creeps get their comeuppance here and Calavera charges her way through the issue in a frenzy worthy of being the titular character.
As a huge fan of horror punk growing up (hey, I have all the Misfits and Cramps LPs) I found Calavera The Undead to be a humorously creepy good time. Hopefully the full series gets published and readers can find out if the zombie apocalypse has been averted! She has the potential to become an indie heroine on par with Tank Girl and the book is worth taking a look.
Calavera The Undead #1 - 9/10
Summary
Part Tank Girl and Part Vampirella, Calavera The Undead #1 is a campy good read with a fun plot and excellent artwork.
See article here: http://www.rhymeswithgeek.com/calavera-undead-1-rwg-reviews/
See article here: http://www.rhymeswithgeek.com/calavera-undead-1-rwg-reviews/
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