Ice Cream Man Volume 1: Rainbow Sprinkles

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As always, Martin Morazzo’s art is gorgeous and fits the dark, unsettling tone of the Ice Cream Man anthology perfectly, with Chris O’Halloran’s muted but effective use of color deepening the dank environment that Jacob finds himself writing in. Plus, the illustrated depictions of each of the “necessary monsters” by Morazzo are perfect, evocative of simple pointillism tattoos, or art you would find illustrating the margins of ancient bestiaries. Morazzo’s cover for the book is terrifying in its homage to classic bestiary art, plus the variant covers by Trish Forstner and Andrew Blucha are simply amazing, gorgeous additions to anyone’s short box.

Eye Scream: What good is good old fashioned ice cream without some good old fashioned Eye Scream to go with it? The only reason I didn't rate this 5 stars is because some of these stories could have been better or longer. In some of them, the creators had a specific lesson or message in mind. In others, they wanted to make the reader to think for themselves. In this, they 100% delivered! Jedidiah Jenkins is a simple farmer. But his cash crop isn’t corn or soy. He grows fast-healing, highly-customizable human organs. For years, Jed’s organic transplants have brought healing to many, but deep in the soil of the Jenkins Family Farm something sinister has taken root. Today this dark seed will begin to sprout, and the Jenkins family will be the first to taste its bitter fruit. If you are a fan of episodic horror like Tales from the Darkside, Tales from the Crypt, Creepshow, etc. then this is the graphic novel for you! Issue 11 rallies against new media over saturation and the increasingly shorter attention spans of people in the modern age. The main character of this issue is a guy who neglected his family and ended up wishing he hadn't gotten so out of touch with them.So begins a gripping graphic presentation of New York Times-bestselling author JOE HILL’s acclaimed novella, adapted by DAVID M. BOOHER ( Canto) and ZOE THOROGOOD ( The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott). Also features a bonus art gallery and an all-new introduction by author JOE HILL!

Crossword Puzzle: The main theme of issue 14, due to the main character being a huge crossword addict. He's implied to get over it by the end of the story and instead begins working on repairing his marriage. This certainly isn't your straight up horror, which was pretty much what I expected it to be. There's nothing even remotely atypical about this whatsoever, though the originality and ingenuity doesn't instantly equal good. More unsettling than scary, and more depressing than depraved. This is like Trainspotting, but horror, and weird. Sometimes it works, sometimes its doesn't. Rural mystery and urban horror collide in this character-driven meditation on obsession, mental illness, and faith from the creators that writer BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS said “will go down as one of the greatest comic teams of all time!”There are four unrelated tales in this collection, bound together by the mysterious Ice Cream Man. The tales feature a kid living with the corpses of his dead parents, a couple junkies, a down and out one hit wonder, and a man giving his best friend a eulogy. I guess the truth is hard and sad sometimes. But that’s why we have stories...to help us forget the truth for a little while. Stories make the world a beautiful place. Even when they end...” There are some genuinely decent ideas here, though some average execution often lets them down at times. The art too, is hit and miss, with its very indie leanings working at times, and looking a bit amateurish at others. One thing you can credit this book for is its originality. I don't think I've ever seen such an original collection of 'horror' stories ever assembled together in one place. But again, originality doesn't always equal good. If some of these more middling issues had been better executed, even with more traditional stories and settings, I would have finished this book enjoying it more than I ultimately did. Surreal Horror: The comic dips into this from time to time. Issue 13 for example, is one giant palindrome that tells the story of a man who lost his husband/boyfriend to cancer and goes on a journey into the sewers. Then things get freaky...

Alcoholic Parent: George, the viewpoint character of issue 18 was one. It ended up destroying his marriage. Anthology Comic: Aside from a few recurring characters each issue is episodic and follows different protagonists and their encounters with the titular ice cream man. Martin Morazzo’s art and Chris O’Halloran’s colors on Ice Cream Man #36 perfectly capture the gothic mood of the story. The art is reminiscent of illustrations you would find in an old Edgar Allen Poe or Tolkien book, having a classic horror feel. It’s beautiful work that enhances the great writing.Ice Cream Man�#35 has several poignant, if heavy-handed, lessons on the necessary evils that humanity falls victim to in perpetuity, such as addiction, shame, obsession, and fear, all of which the narrator Jacob believes are� actual monsters, not just concepts or experiences. While W. Maxwell Prince has always been a stellar writer on� Ice Cream Man, this issue really gets to see the talented writer flex his prose skills, and show off the effectiveness of his metaphors, colorful language, and use of esoteric and philosophical ideas. Also, his reference to the the 1892 short “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is the perfect addition to the guide, and Prince’s transformation of the main character in the short story into a kind of cryptid is brilliant. COLE TURNER has studied conspiracy theories all his life, but he isn’t prepared for what happens when he discovers that all of them are true, from the JFK Assassination to Flat Earth Theory and Reptilian Shapeshifters. One organization has been covering them up for generations. What is the deep, dark secret behind the Department of Truth? There is a companion six-issue mini series called Haha with the final issue crossing over by telling the origin story of Happy Hank who first appeared in Ice Cream Man #8. Similarly, the mini series Swan Songs crosses over in it's sixth issue. Spiders Are Scary: Issue 1 gets a lot of mileage out of this trope, though it helps that said spider is one of the most venomous species on the planet.