This week’s Wednesday Comics Reviews column prepares for next week’s San Diego Comic-Con with a look at the horror anthology Dread the Hall H, a new Skybound launch with Ghost Pepper #1, an EC Comics revival check-in with Catacomb of Torment #1, and much more! Meanwhile, our Ensign’s Log feature explores the new title, Star Trek: Red Shirts #1. We also look ahead at a trio of new titles eligible for pre-order in our FOC Watch section. Plus, as always, The Prog Report!
Dread the Hall H #1
Writers: Chris Ryall and Jordan Hart
Artist: Nelson Daniel, Piotr Kowalski, Chris Anderson, and Jimmy Kucaj
Colorist: Vladimir Popov
Letterer: Jordan Hart
Publisher: Image Comics – Syzygy Publishing
Review by Javier Perez
Chris Ryall and Jordan Hart‘s previous Christmas installment in what is now a Dread The Halls anthology series makes me feel like I’m not entirely out on a limb when I say that this week’s Dread The Hall H is something that captures the convention feel — so much so that it could be the comic equivalent of A Christmas Carol to convention goers…but maybe with a few more zombies.
Ryall and Hart bring their wit and love for horror to the next installment of the Dread series. There are frights and spooky stuff, and the team knows what makes San Diego Comic Con such a special event. Every story landed for me, and even the one that dragged on for a while (wink) ended up being my favorite out of the bunch. Hart’s humor is excellent, and Ryall’s storytelling shines through, and they do it all while playing around with convention tropes and stereotypes.
What are your biggest convention fears? This was a recent one for me: forgetting to pack your suitcase and figuring it out once you get to the convention, or being late to the booth of your favorite publisher with them running out of wristbands for the thing you wanted — and the capped lines, the dammed capped lines. I feel sympathetic for the staff, and the attendees could be more polite. My experience as a volunteer holding the “end-of-the-line” sign still haunts me to this day. I’d like to kindly invite all those people to my funeral so they can let me down one last time.
Anyway, Jimmy Kucaj‘s art is incredible. I love how heavy and dynamic his linework is; it’s the most action-packed art you’ll see about figuring out which line you should wait in. Piotr Kowalski and Chris Henderson also knock it out of the (Petco) park. Both of their stories hinge on the facial expressions for the story to work. We should keep getting more Maria Wolf covers from this series, too. I don’t know what the next issue will be about, but let’s make it a yearly tradition to have Wolf do the cover.
Last but not least, a shoutout to Hart’s design and lettering, on top of his writing work. Hart’s covers in the Dread The series are so perfect for getting signatures. I’ll have to get multiple copies of this book.
This was the shot in the arm that I needed to get ready and excited about this year’s SDCC. It’s a comic book about “the” comic convention, as well as a love letter to a convention that will always be about comics. Last year’s Dread the Halls was an easy recommendation for anyone who likes a little Christmas-themed horror, and this year Ryall and Hart have done it again with Dread the Hall H. It’s fun, silly, and a good time; comic book conventions at their core are about the community that comes to these events, and I can’t wait to see all you ghouls downtown.
Catacomb of Torment #1
Writers: John Arcudi, Marguerite Bennett, Matt Kindt, William M. Gaines & Al Feldstein
Art: Patrick Piazzalunga, Dan McDaid, David Lapham, Graham Ingels
Colors: Alessandro Santoro, Michelle Madsen, Nick Filardi, Michael Atiyeh
Letters: Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Tyler Smith
Publisher: Oni Press
Review by Clyde Hall
The Oni EC horror revival continues this week in the premiere issue of Catacomb of Torment. The new title carries on from the 12-issue run of Epitaphs from the Abyss which wrapped in June and has a similar appeal. Namely, that it’s a horror anthology plying the stylings of classic EC publications to more modern day themes and narratives. Epitaphs scored high marks from me in its early issues yet lost some creative steam as the title progressed. Still, the series placed Oni high atop the charts in a horror anthology-rich year for having such huge scarpines of the Spanish Boot variety to fill.
Catacomb of Torment does similar service through our host, the Tormentor, with a notable difference. The first issue is composed of three new stories, and one 1952 reprint from Shock SuspenStories #2. Whether it’s a move for cutting costs or gifting modern readers a macabre window into a horror comic gold standard, it’s bold. Contrasting and comparing the manner of ‘then’ with the manner of ‘now’ may work against the latter.
The new tale trio begins with ‘What’s the Deal with Voodoo?’, written by John Arcudi, art by Patrick Piazzalunga, colors by Alessandro Santoro, and lettering for all three new stories by Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Tyler Smith. It’s a tale bridging the generational gulf between a shock-joke antique of a standup comic and a young collegiate audience pouncing on every opportunity for taking offense. It teeters the No Man’s Land of cultural division we’re all familiar with, and casts neither side in an appealing light. Which makes it one of those mentioned modern horror applications to the established EC style. Arcudi mostly accomplishes this, but in the search for an unexpected ending he may have taken it one twist too far.
The second story, ‘Quintana Roo’, is written by Marguerite Bennett, art by Dan McDaid, and with colors by Michelle Madsen. What happens when modern vacationers in a tropical land leave the safety of their resort for a taste of the jungle surroundings? They find a side of nature that’s supernatural, and which doesn’t care what sorts of ‘conquerors’ they think they are or who they’re descended from.
The earth is old as humans count age, and it’s seen many apex predators become prey. This creative team delivers a reckoning which looks down the barrel of many mortal points of view regarding nations and boundaries with an entity far beyond mortal standards. It’s timely in topic and downright creepy in tone.
‘Garden Variety’ is scripted by Matt Kindt, with art by David Lapham and colors by Nick Filardi. A chef spares no effort creating culinary art through most unusual flavorings, achieved by painstakingly researched chemical reactions and specially cultivated crops. His dedication to craft and disregard for moral concerns leads to a final meal of just desserts. Of the three new tales, this one flows the smoothest. Good pacing with a progression of circumstances builds to an overboiling kettle of suspense. Plus an effective, plausible end reveal which works.
Finally is the EC reprinted tale, ‘Halloween’, by storytellers William M. Gaines & Al Feldstein, artist Graham Ingels, and with color restorations by Michael Atiyeh. A new teacher hired to oversee the wellbeing of orphans in a state-run facility finds the administrator languishing under harsh budgetary restrictions and kids on the verge of starvation. With good stewardship of grocery funds (supplemented by her own modest salary) and used clothing drives, the teacher makes the lives of their charges tolerably better. Together, she and her wards tackle cleaning the facility and make it livable once more. But when the administrator refuses her request for a Halloween pumpkin, the teacher uncovers proof he’s a cooked books gourmet. Servings of comeuppance and jack-o-lanterns soon follow.
Reading the new stories and contrasting them with this classic reprint illustrates the foundational difference between both their horror approaches, I believe. The new tales hold that no human being has a capacity for goodness in their nature. Nearly all the characters presented are creatures of their absolute worst nature, whether it’s a standup comic intentionally stoking the crowd with offensive material, or the students in the audience showing righteous indignation exceeding standards once considered normal. Tourists who act like lords and masters of the Mexican land where they’re vacationing, versus the more enlightened in their ranks who goads the others with superior knowledge of history and culture. She could act as a teacher but instead chooses the path of an agitator.
Which isn’t an inaccurate mirroring of our social climate now, sides weaponized against each other and in no search of common ground. But it does make the final formula of comeuppance for the villains who’ve proven themselves deserving somehow less satisfying. It renders the element of real and righteous revenge applied against antagonists moot if everyone deserves the worst possible outcome. Monsters may end up being protagonists in the final analysis, another angle EC at times shot for, but in the newer tales, supernatural elements also tend toward being inhumanly wicked or unrelatable.
In ‘Halloween’, we see innocent kids without choices victimized but then helped by a caring teacher. When the sins of the administrator are revealed, the reader is fully ready to see him get his due. Maybe modern audiences no longer have a built-in capacity to side with the kids or the teacher. Or maybe in modern experience, both those classic protagonist sets are no part of a real-life equation readers can identify with. For them, the old school tale might be too unrealistic and unbelievable.
In any case, the first issue of Catacomb of Torment is a prime opportunity to experience what was peak horror comics storytelling of the 1950s, the kind that brought about the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency and the Comics Code Authority, and modern applications of EC’s style by talented creators. Both new and seasoned fans of comic book horror should experience both varieties, then draw their own conclusions. This launch gives them that chance.
Post Malone’s Big Rig #1
Writers: Post Malone & Adrian Wassel
Artist: Nathan Gooden
Colorist: Der-Shing Helmer
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Vault Comics
Review by Jordan Jennings
Big Rig #1 is musician Post Malone’s first entry into the world of comics. Malone is known for jumping around music genres as well as being a part of various geek cultures. For goodness sake, he owns 1 of 1 One Ring Magic the Gathering card. I wasn’t shocked to see him take a stab at writing comics. Malone co-writing a comic about a demon fighting Big Rig wasn’t exactly my first guess, though.
The premise of Big Rig revolves around Medieval Europe being besieged by demon hordes and that it’s up to deus ex machina in the form of a Big Rig to save the day. The demon stuff is not unlike Medieval Spawn or Vault’s own Barbaric. It’s a massive horde of grotesque demons possessing villagers being mowed down by a Big Rig sent from the heavens. Think US-1 meets Spawn. The central premise promises a plethora of action and violence. It feels campy, but in a good way. That said, for as much fun as the premise promises to be, Big Rig #1 comes off stilted in the writing department. This should not come as a surprise given that comics are a notoriously hard medium for even the most established writers from other mediums to break into. Post Malone may be an enjoyable musician, but he doesn’t have a long history of writing comics let alone narrative based fiction. It’s not easy writing funny books, folks.
Now, Vault does help Post Malone’s vision come to life by putting some of their top talent on the book with co-writer Adrian Wassel and artist Nathan Gooden. Wassel primarily serves as an editor for Vault, but does have a history of comics writing. The stiffness comes from the dialog and exposition really needing another pass to help it flow. The story flows fairly well and pacing is tight, but there are just moments that the book grinds to a halt when the comic tries to explain what is happening or whenever there is dialog between the lead Driver character and other cast members of the book. This isn’t a deal killer for me, but it does make the book slow down at times when it should just lean into the madness on page.
That madness is illustrated by Nathan Gooden, who once again shows why he’s one of the best artists in the industry. The issue has some most beautifully rendered emotions and clean, dynamic action sequences. I have been a big fan of Gooden’s work since checking out Barbaric and Big Rig is perfect for him. Gooden’s page composition is a big reason for the issue’s solid pacing despite the (at-times) stiff writing. It keeps the issue moving along at a nice clip and makes the comic feel alive.
The creative decision to go for a largely black and white comic was a bold one. Sure it isn’t exactly new these days as Marvel has played around with Black, White, and Red style comics as a gimmick. Big Rig does it in a way that contributes to the story and remembers the comic is intended to be in black and white. Gooden uses varying techniques to give volume, shape, and definition in the absence of color. What pops of red Der-Shing Helmer places in the issue are eye-catching and evocative of blood, violence, or the devil themselves. It’s a beautiful comic.
Big Rig #1 is a beautiful joy ride of action and violence. While I do find myself wishing the comic was able to shift gears a bit smoothly when it came to the flow of dialog and exposition, the engine driving the story is solid. Big Rig #1 is a delightfully pulpy comic that is sure to deliver thrills for fans of Evil Dead, Barbaric, or Medieval Spawn.
This Ends Tonight #1
Writer: Gerry Dugan, Kelvin Mao and Robert Windom
Artist: Jae Lee
Colorist: June Chung
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Image Comics
Review by Jared Bird
This Ends Tonight is a three issue miniseries that sees writer Gerry Duggan (Falling In Love On The Path To Hell) team up with the writing duo of Kelvin Mao and Robert Windom (Seven Sons) and acclaimed artist Jae Lee (Inhumans) to craft a pulpy, Las Vegas-set revenge thriller. Sisters Anna and Katie come from a rich, old family, and when Anna takes Katie to Las Vegas to celebrate her younger sister’s 21st birthday, Katie will have to reconcile with her family’s strange history as mysterious forces try to kill them.
The story of this comic bounces between Tarantino-style bloody crime thriller, to epic high fantasy, to surrealist science fiction, to all sorts in between. It never takes itself too seriously, and is always following the rule of cool first and foremost. I’m sure this will work for a lot of people, because it very much is genuinely cool. It’s got a great sense of style, a consistent energy, and across its 40 pages, it never lets up for a moment, a pulse-pounding adventure from start to finish.
Unfortunately, I think this book suffers from having too many cooks in the kitchen. With three different writers working on the story, it’s no wonder the narrative often feels cluttered and jumpy. While there are moments that tap into the sense of cool, exciting story that the premise seems to be setting up, far too much of the story feels like a strange mix of half-baked and over-cooked. A huge issue is that we never really get to learn about or get attached to Katie and Anna before the hijinks begin, so much of the tension falls flat and you don’t necessarily care all that much about the characters’ safety. While glimpses of the individual writers come out, particularly Gerry Duggan’s sarcastic and witty sense of humour, the writing generally feels overstuffed and lacking in personality or effectiveness as a result. It’s not bad, it’s just not as good as it could be either.
Jae Lee’s artwork is unquestionably the strongest element of the book. He infuses every page with a merciless, manic energy that keeps the story flowing even when the dialogue and story feel unnecessarily complicated or cluttered. He’s got a great sense for visual design that allows the character designs of the book to stand out and feel unique, and he’s great at drawing the intense, violent action sequences that readers will expect from a book that compares itself to Tarantino. His artwork brings out the best in the writing, allowing some of the character beats to hit and giving some charisma and personality to the core duo.
Overall, This Ends Tonight #1 is an underwhelming read. Bogged down by attempting to do too much, even in the span of a double-length first issue, it’s let down by an unnecessarily complicated story that very quickly loses track of the elements that actually work. Whilst it’s not bad, it does feel significantly impacted by having too many creatives onboard, resulting in a lack of an identity of its own, and instead blending into something frustrating, because it could’ve been great.
The Rapid Rundown
- Ghost Pepper #1 (Image Comics – Skybound): If there’s one word to describe Ludo Lullabi’s Ghost Pepper #1 it’s stuffed. There is so much here, characters, action, massive landscapes, that it is hard to track. But there’s no denying the ambition and unfettered and joyful creativity. It’s the kind of comic you just let run over you and worry about specifics later. Lullabi’s art is electric, with an exaggerated, expressionist approach to figures and lines that grant life and motion to every single panel. There’s a dynamism to the layouts, with heavy foreshortening, dramatic action lines used for unremarkable moments to humorous effect, and a masterful approach to scale. Our characters live beneath the shadow of some kind of mysterious mechanical behemoth, and are rendered tiny in comparison. The wide, sprawling shots and imagery of robotic drones falling from the sky evoke a sense of awe and drama that interrupts the funny, slapstick character introductions. A woman just wants to ply her trade in a food truck in this barren mechanical desert but is interrupted by a deadly army of machines seeking a mysterious patron. The book falls apart a bit here, with some unnecessary jumps back and forth in time without clear transition but it ultimately doesn’t matter because the manga style over the top combat is such a fun time. Hiding behind the the cyberpunk dystopia and food truck antics is the mystery behind the world’s religion and myth of the Cinder and the curse he brings. And though the linear plot is occasionally hard to follow that matters less than the dynamism of Lullabi’s art, which also features colors by Adriano Lucas. —Tim Rooney
Ensign’s Log Stardate 7162025
As IDW’s Star Trek comics continue to expand, Ensign Avery Kaplan has enlisted here to keep a careful log!
Star Trek: Red Shirts #1
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artist: Megan Levins
Colorist: Charlie Kirchoff
Letterer: Jodie Troutman
Publisher: IDW Publishing
It’s one of the Franchise’s longest running jokes: don’t be an unnamed red shirt on an away mission, or you may find yourself dead (in order to raise the stakes for the named characters). But in Star Trek: Red Shirts #1, the titular cannon fodder takes center stage.
It’s sort of like a grim twist on Star Trek: Lower Decks. Written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Megan Levins, colors by Charlie Kirchoff, letters by Jodie Troutman and design & production by Neil Uyetake, Red Shirts #1 is a promising overture for the premise. The inaugural issue opens with an arresting splash page depicting a Mugato attack…and that isn’t the only gory fate to befall a Starfleet officer in these first twenty pages.
As you might expect for a book like this, there is a large roster of characters; a two-page dramatis personae included in the back of the issue is a welcome inclusion. Plus, it’s a huge perk to have an all-new, all-different cast of Star Trek comic characters. And no, you can’t expect everyone to survive even this first issue…it is called Red Shirts, after all!
Levins delivers some excellent art, while Kirchoff keeps the colors on the darker side (which suits the title’s mood). And as ever, Troutman’s lettering is thoughtful and well-executed. Whether or not this miniseries will fulfill its potential or not remains to be seen. However, there is plenty of potential here, so you’ll want to be sure and pick up the first issue and follow the series for yourself.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation #1
Writer: Robbie Thompson
Artist: Travis Mercer
Colorist: JP Jordan
Letterer: Jodie Troutman
Release Date: August 27, 2025
The first issue of the next comic miniseries to be based on the ongoing Paramount+ series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Seeds of Salvation #1, will be beaming down to your local comic shop on August 27, 2025, with a FOC of July 21, 2025. But today, we have a special advance review of the issue for you.
Written by Robbie Thompson with art by Travis Mercer, colors by JP Jordan, letters by Jodie Troutman and design/production by Neil Uyetake, this story follows the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise under Captain Pike as they venture to an outpost on a planet that’s encased in ice. As mentioned in the press for the title, the story introduces a new character: a robot with some unique idiosyncrasies. This initial entry in the miniseries sets up the adventure, and teases the action that’s to come. I enjoyed the stylized artwork, which gives an interesting flair to the now-familiar crew.
I also thought a few of the pages had unusually engaging layouts. Setting the action on an ice planet with an ocean is a good use of the comics medium, since it’s unlikely some of these elements could be included on an episode of the live action series. While the issue does include a stardate, I’m still a little unclear on where exactly it fits in the show’s timeline. Nevertheless, this issue contains some promising elements that could be developed to great effect in subsequent issues. Jordan’s colors are well suited to the action, and Troutman’s lettering is always excellent.
For Trekkies who need more Strange New Worlds in their life, The Seeds of Salvation #1 should be added to your pull list.
FOC Watch
This book is available for pre-order now.
Red Vector #1
Writers: David ‘DB’ Andry & Tim Daniel
Art: Chris Evenhuis
Colors: Sjan Weijers
Letters: Buddy Beaudoin
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Release Date: August 27, 2025
Review by Clyde Hall
Long before the Mirror was Black, science fiction was adept at reflecting society back at itself with stories making subtle or not-so-subtle observations about problems which arise from simply being human. Difficulties, prejudices, and shortcomings which span across centuries in different places and in different cultures. The same may be said for comic books. In the Summer of Superman, we’re reminded that the icon of all superheroic icons began as an immigration story. The alien survivor of a doomed race finding a new home on Earth, raised by loving foster parents who helped him become a defender of all humankind.
‘Red Vector’ #1 travels similar space ways, using a healthy mashup of the films ‘Enemy Mine’ and ‘Flight of the Phoenix’ for its foundation. Mad Cave Studios tagged their new 5-issue miniseries “space opera” more than sci-fi, and that galactic caliga might fit. But it isn’t for lack of writers David ‘DB’ Andry and Tim Field doing heavy lifting in examining immigration issues through a starfield-rich fictional lens.
We’re introduced mid-battle to two sides of an intergalactic conflict. Daring starfighter pilot Rhet Dekk leads an insurgency force against Commander Perric and Prime Minister Varseen, brothers working for the interests of a galaxy-spanning government. It’s a body politic not particularly courting input from their subjects regarding how to run an empire. But when a spatial or dimensional rift opens during the conflict, fighters operated by Dekk and Farseen are pulled through. They crash land on an inhabited alien world called Earth in a locale known as the Sonoran Desert. Park Ranger Cora Martinez watches over this area, a place where desperate immigrants seeking better lives often risk their own. This is where two otherworldly warring factions come together and make Cora’s life more challenging, even as they must face the prospect of a truce while they cobble their two spaceships together into a functioning lifeboat back to the star ways.
Andry and Field concentrate mostly on the differing outlooks of Perric and Varseen regarding resolution of conflicts with the rebel factions, the Commander being the Amdrew Johnson to Varseen’s Lincoln. Cora’s part of the opening chapter develops late in the issue and her position between opposing forces, within her own career and now with feuding space aliens, is relayed in a shorthand sort of way.
In this, the narrative works well enough, even better if one’s read the synopsis on the Mad Cave website first. But it flows less smoothly than it could and ends on a note of high expectation for the next issue. Rather than anxious to find out what on Earth or space is going to happen next, I felt I knew where the other shoe would drop regarding action but wondered how the backdrop would come fully into focus utilizing the border area and immigration issues. Both are anticipation for the next chapter, just in a different form than expected.
The writers should take care in the subsequent issues not to overplay underlying elements of alienation, differing philosophies within the ruling body, and their parallels with similar Terran matters. These feel moderately heavy-handed going in. Add a Doppelganger Romanic Interest trope also copiously employed and there’s a risk of applying too much, too unsubtly, for some readers.
Artist Chris Evenhuis and color artist Sjan Weijers make all the characters attractive, and the space settings and equipment are ‘Trek’-perfect rather than ‘Star Wars’ lived-in. But earthside, the artistic team applies just enough real world grime and imperfection that it creates a nice aesthetic contrast without invalidating either.
In the premiere issue of ‘Red Vector’, the narrative presents relevant and timely undertones couched in a science fiction or space opera panacea. For space operatic fare, it feels pretty sci-fi. For science fiction, it seems fairly simplistic and overt with its topics. The first issue leaves me wondering which way the miniseries will land when it’s complete. For the topics it addresses, whether eventually underlying or overplayed, the first issue is worth a look.
The Prog Report
2000AD 2441 (Rebellion Publishing): This week brings us the start of another of Tharg’s 3rillers, a series of standalone story concepts that are told in three parts. This new one is titled Relict: Invasive Species, and it’s by writer Honor Vincent, artist Lee Milmore, and letterer Simon Bowland. It’s a story about lab mice that have grown intelligence (to varied degrees) and are navigating their way through some dire situation. I’d describe this one as Watership Down-y, although the animals being able to talk is part of this narrative, not just a fact of life in this world. The opening chapter was fine (talking animals in comics is a very hot concept right now), but it didn’t grab me as thoroughly as some of the other recent three-part stories have with their first installment. The other strip I wanted to mention this week is Azimuth: Abandoned By God by writer Dan Abnett, artist Tazio Bettin, colorist Matt Soffe, and letterer Jim Campbell. I really liked the most recent volume of this comic, which I believe ran last year (what even is time now?). It’s just such a fun mix of Abnett’s complex maximalist sci-fi plotting with Bettin’s stunning eye for creature and concept design. The collaboration between these two creators really works for me, and I’m glad it’s back. This week’s dialogue (!!) cover (above) is by Colin MacNeil. As always, you can pick up a digital copy of The Prog here. —Zack Quaintance
Column edited by The Beat’s reviews editor, Zack Quaintance. Read past entries in the weekly Wednesday Comics reviews series!
Next week…we’ll do our best to get some reviews up in this space, even as San Diego Comic Con bears down upon us!
