A very enjoyable horror anthology that has a very wide range of stories with a slightly subdued Halloween theme. An anthology is always a challenge in comics, variety is critical and having very different styles work together can be difficult to manage. In The Chronicles of Terror both are made to look easy, there is a great variety and harmony at the same time.
Peppermint, Jackie Justice (Writer), Mohamed Foaud Awad (Art) is very strong version of a classic story idea. At Halloween a couple find unexpected trouble instead of harmless fun. The story is set up very well, within a very short space there is considerable action and the cast are more than just victims in waiting. Mohamed Foaud Awad’s black and white art is detailed enough to give a strong context for the action, the cast are expressive and credible, the panels are used very well to control the pace of the story.
The Deep, Jeff Mcclland (Writer), Jason Seabaugh (Penciller) , Rusy Giligan (Inker), Adnan Virk (Letters) Chris Allen, (Colors) is a great story with a wonderfully unexpected and clever story turn. Two skeletons playing card in a sunken submarine is a great set up, what follows plays with the idea with great skill. The colours are a pleasure, they are bright and slightly subdued at the same time, they capture and express the story intent and nuance beautifully. The art is inviting, the skeletons have body language that makes them come to life for the reader. They have personality if not flesh.
11:27 Josh John St James (Writer), Chunlin Zhao (Art) Nikku Sherman (Letters) is tense and gripping, night horrors have rarely been so nasty. The story have a very strong and tight focus on the struggle that unfolds, there is nothing extra or unnecessary. The art is splendid, it creates the uneasy atmosphere that steadily escalates, fear is contagious and the terror of the child pulls the reader in. The sound effects are spot on, they provide the sound track for the action, and underscore and amplify the situation with precision.
Dead Stream. Haraldo (Writer and Art) appears to have wandered in from a different collection before it brutally shows exactly why it is so at home in this anthology. A man is rescued from a river and in the spirit of no good deed going unpunished, this proves to be a very bad move. The art is compelling, the use of panels to control the pace the story is amazing, the cast are vivid and full of energy, the colours draw out the details of the context perfectly.
Under the Bed. Bryan Hoover (Writer), Ron Joseph (Pencils) , Jake Inseberg (Inker), E.T. Dollman (Letters) is extraordinary. More a punchline than a story the very smart set up and beautiful art lift it up and make it shine.
Well to Hell. Tom Worth (Writer), J.C.Grande (Art), Nikki Sherman (Letters), provides a very entertaining reminder that if you make a deal with Hell the Devil is very much in the detail. The story set up very well, the pay of is spot on. J.C. Grande manages the human and the infernal cast with great confidence,Nikki Sherman uses lettering to great effect to emphasise the differences in the cast.
This is a great anthology, the quality of the stories is uniformly high, all the stories deliver on their Halloween promise.
Chief Wizard Note: This is a review copy very kindly sent by Kim Roberts. To purchase a copy of The Chronicles of Terror Vol 2.,excellent comics are scientifically proven to be good for you, you can get it from http://www.wpcomicsltd.com/
