Action Labs Month: The Final Plague # 1 Review

THE FINAL PLAGUE # 1
Written by Johnnie Arnold
Art by Tony Guaraldi-Brown

Action Labs Danger Zone


FLIPPING THROUGH:

            Action Labs Month continues as we take a look into The Final Plague. We open with a family in a farm out in Iowa were a mother of 2 children, Helen, smashes a rat … and it just won’t die. Helen literally has to make it a smear on a wall in order to kill it. Afterwards, Helen’s husband, Robert, chats with his son noticing that some of the rats remains a twitching.

            We go over quickly to a hobo in New York who is drunkenly singing Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” and then …. OH GOD!!!!!

            Um … yeah. Moving on to a lab in Jersey, we find that one scientist, Jeremy, has a bunch of these rabid rats. He tells another scientist,  Carol, that they had blood on them. A rat was able to spit blood into another lab assistant, and Jeremy decides it is best to quarantine the rats … and the lab assistant.

            We get more with Helen and Robert’s family as they reveal to been having an infestation. Robert calls his buddy and exterminator, Alan. They have dinner together and send Alan down to kill the infestation of rats when … EEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!


ART:

            Okay. As you noticed, I am kinda skeeved out by this book. Okay. MORE Than Kinda skeeved out. And that is impressive. Guaraldi-Brown really brings us a visually dark, gross yet interesting look to the tale. It is non-typical comic style  yet really works as sequential art. The lack of color in some spots with the addition of color in other pages really makes the scenes stand out more and covey a lot more emotion. You can see emotion on faces and Guaraldi-Brown lets the visuals and colors take you in a different way. I appauld him for his use of darker, sharper inks and the colors look almost as if water colors but I am not sure. Yet, these really work to bring you into the atmosphere of the book, the scenes and overall emotions that are put out in the panels.

            The lab was very  sterile so there are a lot of whites, grays and blacks till the rat spat blood.  When Robert and his son  look at the sunset, there was a feeling of optimism there. Yet, the biggest thing that I MUST give Guaraldi-Brown credit for is the horrific visuals. Dear God, I have not been this squimish about a comic book for nearly 2 decades.( Note: Last time I was this squimish, I was a teenage readying the roaches vs the rats on Blood Syndicate) The panels really brought me there and I felt so unclean. Still do in fact. WELL DONE Guaraldi-Brown.

WRITING:

            The Final Plague # 1 gives you a lot in the first issue but presents it wonderfully. Arnold gives us a family we can relate to, some scientist who are studying the probably and the beginnings to seeing how bad this “plague” really is. It is nice seeing animals kind of fighting back humans for a change.

            There is a good amount of uncomfortable dirty in this book and I LOVE it. This is the type of comics I really enjoy. Rich characters in situations that make YOU (the reader) uncomfortable. And Arnold does this several times, which each team escalating the filth and horror. The issue was paced really well and we got introduced to all the characters in a organic, positive way. Arnold also seems to have subplots stewing and what is more horrifying is seeing the reach of this “plague” already.

            I also give kudos to Arnold for going the extra mile in getting down dialects and vocabulary from different parts of the US down. Helen and Robert sound like they are from a farm in Iowa. Jeremy and Carol sound like they are from Jersey but NOT the Jersey Shore. I give him extra props for adding the flavor to the books cause I seem to read a lot of books that don’t diversify speech enough these days. So another point in Arnold’s favor. And Arnold’s script alongside Guaraldi-Brown’s visuals make me feel unclean, uncomfortable, horrified and WANTING MORE!


OVERALL IMPRESSION:

            I am pleasantly surprised at this book. THIS is quality comics. This is what reading comics is about. Being moved, captivated and manipulating readers to feel and think because of your script. The Final Plague # 1 stands as a great shining star in the creative owned sector. The characters feel realistic. The pacing is excellent. The plots believable and gripping and the art is amazing. This book UNSETTLES me and I am not easy to unsettle after 22 years of comic book reading/collecting. Exquisite work from Arnold and Guaraldi-Brown.


RATING:

            I need to take a bath and afraid of small animals after this book. I humbly give this book a 10 out of 10! BUY THIS BOOK! ORDER THIS BOOK! GIVE YOUR FRIENDS A COPY! THEN BUY IT AGAIN!!! 

UNDER THE NET # 6 - LOVECRAFT IS MISSING

Lovecraft is Missing

By Jake Estrada

Welcome to the sixth edition of Under the Net.

I will be rating the elements of the book on a scale of one through five.

One is poor, two is mediocre, three is fair, four is good, and five is excellent.

This week’s web comic is Lovecraft is Missing. It is a web comic series that is updated about twice a week. It was created by Larry Latham who has worked on this series for quite a while. The creator had visions for this series to be a cartoon and even had the idea picked up by some serious studios. Of course as time has lapsed on these properties, the options returned to the creator. The book is a heavy dose of pulp meets horror and suspense. It is beautifully illustrated and it has a great narrative voice that conveys an epic storyline that continues to capture readers on a daily basis. If you haven’t checked out the title, you should swing by and read it for yourself. I also love the feel of the art. It reminds me of some classic Sunday funnies style artwork. I give my props to the creator.

Let me get to the breakdown of the book and its elements.

The Art

The art style is nice; you can see how it has a very cartoony feel to it. It has an almost Tintin style to it, but it is very detailed and it helps move the story nicely. When Larry Latham draws in this style, you can see each detail on the buildings and how painstakingly each line is placed. It is beautifully illustrated, and it captures the time period very well. You can feel the raw emotion his art creates, and it gives it its own unique blend of pulp.  I love that the artist has embraced the modern age and draws directly into Photoshop and does the colors digitally. The colors are very warm, and it helps feed the mood of the story at times, depending where the hero and heroine of the story are located. I thoroughly enjoyed the pictures just as much as I did the written story.

ART: 4 STARS

The Writing

Well, I have read from first page to last, and I must say that the writing is very good. I love how it starts with the character Orwin and goes from Nan to Howard, in an attempt to delve into the mystery of the story. I enjoy that it is a period piece, and it continues to move with this mysterious disappearance of Howard and who is involved. It has that classic pulp thriller feel to it, and this was the intention of the creator. It is obvious that the creator has put a lot of thought into this, as it had intentions of being a cartoon and it sat around on different studio shelves before the creator decided to bring it to the masses himself as a web comic. Thankfully, he did not let it rot on the vine.

WRITING:  4 STARS

Originality         

The story is original to say the least. This book is a period piece set within the confines of a Lovecraft story. I love how the author/creator took this book by the horns and added his own unique mix to it. I also love thinking that how the people transform reminded me of a John Carpenter movie, The Thing. There is a scene where they are meeting with a gentleman, and he transforms into this horrific monster.

This is a comic that is fun. It is a mystery and a horror story mixed together that gives you a very good story, and it keeps making you come back to check it out. I liked how we saw a few things like how the guy cut his hand off, and he was able to form a new one. I also liked how the guy suddenly turned into a nasty monster. I will say that the author knows how to show the reader that he is not afraid to shake things up a bit if he must and do it by pulling the wool over your eyes. I loved his touch when it came to pulling the reader in and then throwing you into this dark, twisted world.

ORIGINALITY: 5 STARS.

 

Grand Total: 4.3 Stars

The Pros

The creator of the comic has a good sense of page design, knows how to draw in the reader, and build the suspense until it erupts in mayhem. It’s nice when a creator can slowly flesh out his characters, show us their motivations, what they want to do with their lives, and then throw them against the impossible odds and have you root for them and hope they make it out alive. You can feel the raw emotion, and Larry Latham knows how to do this with a masterful grace.

The Cons

There was really no issue with the comic. There were a few panels where the lettering got really small at times, and that forced me to turn the percentage of the page up to 300%, but that only happened about six or seven times. If the book is printed, the text will be hard to read. However, that is just a minor thing. This book is simply amazing.

My Final Word

If you like drama, action, suspense, horror, and mystery then you should give this book a chance. It has a unique blend of humor and horror to make you want to read more and the creator of this series is having fun. It shows.

The comic updates regularly at:

http://lovecraftismissing.com/

Enjoy folks!

Jake Estrada

Email me at estradajake@yahoo.com for website suggestions. Thanks.

Jake Estrada is a published author who holds degrees in Multimedia Design and Criminal Justice. He is a father to three wonderful children and married to his beautiful wife, Beth. You can find his comics at http://graphicly.com/estrada-mediaand other fine online stores.