Review: Lorelei Presents: House Macabre #1
Back in the day, the art of Black And White comics was done very well. Mainly the focus of Magazines like Eerie, Creepy and Vampirella and of course Conan, but also for many independent artists who lacked the funding for colors or the color-printing was too expensive.
Many great artists still shine in Black and White glory, like Manara but also José Gonzalez of Vampirella-fame.
Impressive works are still on hand as Terry Moore is creating more intense stories after his Strangers In Paradise, namely Echo and his newest horror-series Rachel Rising. Even the classic BONE is still on everyone’s mind and David Mack’s KABUKI AGENTS: SCARAB as well as KABUKI: MASK OF NOH stand proud. The intensity of Frank Miller’s SIN CITY stories even made it to the Big Screen.
LORELEI has been part of the Indy scene for a while now and each new printing is stronger then the one before and now StarWarp Concepts is going to say praise to the anthologies of old, with a couple of entertaining horror-stories, all well-written and with nice surprises. All the stories are introduced by Lorelei as well as a big 4-page introduction by Lorelei herself.
The start of the comic, with Lorelei coming home and introducing herself feels like coming home indeed. The lovely and luscious artwork, the spontaneous dialogue and the cute-sexy shots work like a charm and really bring you in.
The second story is about a comic book collector and although the art is not on par with the intro, it does support the story and making it a strong and interesting read.
The other lengthy crime-fighting Elite Corps story is actually touching and moved me, and the artwork was really something else, with the use of interesting paneling, strong facial expressions, use of dark/light and making sure the soundeffects are truly a part of the story.
Bottom line? StarWarp Concepts is making a strong debut with this horror-anthology although it might need one extra story to really have the umph an anthology needs. Lorelei introducing and endcapping the volume is even stronger then when Vampirella was doing it in the pages of the Warren Magazines and should remain a pivotal part of this series! If you like horror-anthologies and good B&W comics then this is something that would really fit on your bookshelf!
Lorelei Presents: House Macabre
Written by Steven A. Roman and Dwight Jon Zimmerman
Art by Uriel Caton & Chuck Majewski, Lou Manna, John Pierard, and Juan Carlos Abraldes Rendo
Published by StarWarp Concepts
24 pages, comic book, b&w art
U.S. $3.99 (print) • $1.99 (digital)
ISBN: 978-0-9884429-5-5 (print)
ISBN: 978-0-9884429-6-2 (digital)
On sale now