Zombie Pull Box: December 21 – Featuring Dark Horse Presents #7

>Ding-dong!< “Happy holidays, Doc – we’re here for…” >SLAM!!<

“Jenny, what’s the big idea?! Is the Doc in there, or what?”

“Yeah, Johnny – he’s in there all right. He’s playing cards with the Krampus, so I’m really in no hurry to get inside!”

“Okay, I’ll bite…what the frick is a Krampus?”

“He’s that big, hairy dude that works with Santa – the one that eats kids if they’ve been bad!”

“C’mon, we’ll be fine! I’m sure he’s off duty right now…”

>Creeeeeak< “Oh, there you are kids! I thought I heard you before…”

“What sweet little piggies are these, good Doctor?”

“This is the band of brats I told you about – they just love their brain-rotting funnybooks!”

“They smell…delectable! Not a bit of ‘nice’ anywhere on this bunch, only…naughty. Do you mind if I take the plump one with me?”

“Oh, Krampy – that’s just bad for return business!”

“Mr. Krampus, sir…I’ve got a little brother who’s been rotten all year. Here’s our address, it’s right down the road if you’re hungry.”

“My, my! And I suppose you’d want me to leave YOU off of the edible list, Jenny? Any of you other little urchins have any siblings you’d like to offer up for your freedom?”

“How about an asshat of a neighbor-kid? He’s got a lot of meat on him!”

“Ah Johnny, that’s the holiday spirit! When you kids are done making horrible karmic decisions, this week’s batch of comics is waiting. And to all the rest of you – have a happy, horror-filled holiday!”

Dark Horse Presents #7 (Dark Horse) – Mike Mignola has a new Hellboy story at the heart of this new issue! Big Red sure does get around – last we saw him he was trolling around Mexico with luchadors, and now he’s knee deep in Aztec mummies (BPRD must have a pretty weird vacation plan). Also featured this month: Usagi Yojimbo, a new Age of Reptiles story and the continuation of tales from Howard Chaykin and Neal Adams.

Zombies vs. Cheerleaders #5 (Moonstone) – Wait, wait, wait…wasn’t issue #4 just released last week?! And weren’t we just talking about how there was a six-month wait between #3 and 4? Wow, they’re not kiddin’ around anymore! Come get ‘em while they’re hot, kids…

Ghostbusters #4 (IDW Publishing) – Some might question my inclusion of this book on the list, but I’m guessing those same people haven’t READ the book yet. Ghostbusters always features some of the grooviest ghouls around, and Erik Burnham (writer) and Dan Schoening (artist) have really outdone themselves in capturing the signature snark of the crew. So what’s on tap? Well, that pesky Gozer is trying to rejoin our world…and. y’know, probably try to destroy all mankind again. Hopefully the boys have another round left in ‘em!

Best of the Rest

30 Days of Night #4 (IDW Publishing)
BPRD: Hell On Earth – Russia #4 (Dark Horse)
Dark Shadows #2 (Dynamite Entertainment)
DC Universe Presents #4 (DC Comics)
Famous Monsters: Art Collection #2 (IDW Publishing)
Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #10 (IDW Publishing)
Hellblazer #286 (DC/Vertigo)
Hellraiser: Masterpieces #4 (Boom! Studios)
Key of Z #3 (Boom! Studios)
The Pack #2 (Th3rd World Studios)
Walking Dead Weekly #51 (Image Comics)
Xenoholics #3 (Image Comics)

Graphic Novel Goodness

Criminal Macabre – Omnibus: Volume 2 TPB (Dark Horse) – Who’s the most hard drinkin’, pill-poppin’ antihero to ever team up with the undead to fight…the undead?! They say this cat Cal McDonald is a bad mother – shut your mouth! In my opinion, Cal is the best character ever created by Steve Niles – and weighing in at a hefty 368 pages, this second volume of the omnibus collections provides plenty of his supernatural insanity to make it worth your hard-earned cash!

Baltimore: Volume 1 – The Plague Ships TPB (Dark Horse)
Dark Shadows: The Complete Series: Volume 3 HC (Hermes Press)
Infestation: Outbreak TPB (IDW Publishing)
The Last Zombie: Inferno TPB (Antarctic Press)