All three stories in Issue #1 are drawn and written by series mastermind Jason Paulos. Paulos has mastered the pulp style of retro horror art that was the hallmark of iconic horror publications such as Creepy and Eerie. While Paulos' scripts tended to lag behind the brilliance of his art in the earlier series, experience has honed his talent as a writer. The three stories in issue #1 of the revamped series are tightly written.
The series begins with "A Boy's Best Fiend", a tale of a boy, Anton, who befriends a Hell Hound, who turns out to be a lycanthropic Nazi super soldier. As Anton cares for the Hell Hound (Peter), his village is plagued by the rest of the Nazi Hell Hound pack. Defending Anton and his father from the pack, a disillusioned Peter makes a stand against the tyranny of his German superiors. "A Boy's Best Fiend" is a solid opener. The spectacular art brings the true menace of the Hell Hounds to life. The reader is also treated to an entertaining back story and a satisfying conclusion.
"Collateral Damage" is a genuine Twilight Zone-esque story, complete with a 50s sensibility. Crusading journalist Draper takes on the mob through his newspaper articles, but after his wife is murdered before his eyes, his crusade takes a more violent course. The twist in this one is abrupt and could have benefited from at least minimal, subtle foreshadowing, but otherwise, this story is one of those nifty circular pieces that makes the reader think.
"Look Who's Stalking" is a scathing critique of paranoia, mob violence, and vigilante culture. The 'demon' of the piece is a convicted paedophile released back into the community after serving his prison sentence, but Paulos takes a sympathetic view of the ex-con, West, by showing his struggle to fit back into the community and his sheltering of his disabled mother from the abuse. Concerned citizen and drunkard Renton decides to bait West online into meeting him so he can dispense a little vigilante justice, but things turn sour for the would-be vigilante when others have a similar idea. As Paulos himself suggests through his robed narrator, this is a depressing story, but it's probably the most politically scathing and poignant of the Eeek! stories published to date. This story has no weaknesses: the artwork is the equal to any of Paulos' stories, and the twist, when it inevitably arrives, is perfectly foreshadowed and the epitome of the 'just desserts' style of storytelling. Two thumbs up!
Finally, props to Dave Elsey for creating a striking cover (a realistic rendition of Jason Paulos' iconic Undertaker, who features in several Eeek! stories as narrator). It's the perfect image to relaunch the Eeek! line.
Eeek! #1 is available from newsstands around Australia or directly from Black House Comics.
This review is part of the 2010 Australian Horror Comics review series by Shane Jiraiya Cummings. To read other reviews in this series, search for the Labels 'Oz Horror Comics'.
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