Sirk TV Comic Review: Dark Horse Advance Previews [10-17-12]

Looking at the advance previews for the week of October 17th, the actions speak even more inherently to legacy across the board whether it be the history of BPRD or time of the Empire. The specifics are in finding the character and psychology between the lines who are sometimes surrounded by such large epic structures that their decision making gets lost in the process.Billy The Kid's Old Time Oddities & The Orm Of Lochness #1 Using the personification of Western and specifically Billy The Kid gives this angle an odd "Bill & Ted" reference because the humor seems to come out at the most inopportune of times. These journeys of Billy seem to be more "National Treasure" than Indiana Jones which makes one question the motives of the character. The key story here revolves around Lochness and the creature that lies within. The legend points that a monk whose bones were poisonous to the monster fought him until his death but that his bones remained as talisman and protectors taking on the form of daggers, lanterns and a sword used by the locals. Billy's gang, despite their proclivity, is also made up of mutants which throws off the townspeople. The local priest seems to be under some kind of spell when he brings them into the catacombs. Meanwhile another mutant takes a lizard-like being below the loch to meet who is really behind the disturbances. The art and its movement bear a passing resemblance to "The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen" as well as in the texture of its camaraderie.BPRD: Year Of Monsters 1948 #1 Going back and showing the formative years of when the group was first starting does create some interesting structures in terms of the use of technology. Of course, as always within this structure, the most interesting influx regards the evolution of Hellboy. Here he is only 4 years old but sneaks cigarettes outside where he is not meant to be seen at the HQ in Fairfield, CT. He forms a bond with his handler but is starting to grasp a little bit of how he needs to behave in a larger world. The Professor has already instilled this oath in him. The art also illustrates how close the first movie truly got to capturing him as a boy. The overall arc in this issue though takes the continuance of nuclear testing into effect speaking of tests in the desert and the initial idea of nuclear propulsion. The Professor sees his mind match in a physicist who herself begins to suspect offshoots of the  effects of the shock waves since a creature has been sighted in the desert. The issue adds fun and interactive lore to the proceedings adding canon without affecting away from the continuing storylines.Ex Sanguine: The Hollow Man #1 Taking the edge of a supernatural serial killer and mixing it with elements of Law & Order is an interesting mix which some novels as well as TV shows of late have tried to mix. The key is keeping the workings of what is being killed for grounded enough to connect with an audience. Here, the Hollow Man himself is just trying to stay far enough below the radar to keep his head above water (not unlike Brad Pitt's character in Interview With A Vampire). What makes the story move is someone else coming in and mixing up the progression where it seeps out of control. This comes in the form of the character of Ashley who turns out to be the Languine KIller because, as she puts it, she has a "monster" living inside her (which is not unlike one of the previous season of "Dexter" though that was done from a male perspective). The paradox of a killer having to gain a psychological reasoning of why his way is right and someone else's is wrong is an interesting conundrum. Ultimately though one of the investigators seems to have a sixth sense of her own which brings the investigation more directly to the Hollow Man's doorstep.Mind Mgmt #6 This wonderful series continues it blend of psychological terror and visual splendidness. Etching in an almost fluid memory structure, the set ups are inherently mythic while maintaining a sense of intimacy. The last issue found our would be hero who is anything but trapped on a boat after finding his quarry only to be ambushed by two agent. Their sleeper intensiveness leads them to the bottom of the lake but through forced perspective they look at the world fading away through the water. The mentality shifts from the escaping catalyst to the woman he is tracking allowing for an interesting idea of who is the aggressor and who is the the victim. The key is watching how the memories of the characters begin to falter them because of how the catalyst is manipulating the chess board. Eventually the passage of time (at least from our perspective) begins to alter showing that the girl has indeed been thwarted by the person she hoped would allow her to affect revolution only to realized it is her that has been misled. Another great aspect of these issues is the sidestories including one about an assassin chasing our catalyst only to watch his unparralled sniper angle miss because the catalyst can anticipate his moves.Star Wars: Agents Of The Empire - Hard Targets #1 Existing within the auspices of the Empire in between the time of Revenge Of The Sith & A New Hope, this is the territory wherein which the new TV series will lie so watching these elements might point to some interesting characters possibly in play, Jahan Cross is sent to Alderaan as an Imperial Envoy. Bail Organa, who plays father to Princess Leia Organa, meets with Count Dooku, no doubt some kind of relation to the killed Sith Lord Tyrannus. Cross seems to have had an encounter with Boba Fett. Now his intention is to ply a possible interference. The assassination of Dooku comes from high above in the Empire ranks. Despite his skill at his job set, the reasoning for the assasination point to a political intention that does not point to guilt. However, this is The Empire where life is not always as it is supposed to be.The Victories #3 The enhancement of superheroes gone wrong or bad usually represents itself from the wrong training involved when a scenario or city of crime fighters becomes so saturated that the heroes themselves can't govern their own issues. People hide themselves behind masks to deal with a sort of psychological temptation, misfit or not. Situations drive people to react and this story examines that from all the sides with an inherent reasoning. Faustaus is the hero with the most involved in the crux of his survival. Strike, his childhood co-conspirator who was also trained by The Jackal, is lost in his beliefs of what controlling the crime syndicate has become. Because of a drug/ inhibitant called Float, he has muttated into a doughy version of himself, almost Jabba The Hut in his proportions. While his brother considers himself to blame, Strike accuses his friend who heart seems about ready to explode because of the inherent setup of his power (which is not overtly explained). The consideration speaks to the fact that The Jackal is calling Faustaus out for better or for worse. The art revolves around a Batman type structure but with more demonic characters forcing the action horizontal at one point as he is dealing with his crashing vitals which indeed give a sense of vertigo.