The Hangman #2

Writer – Frank Tieri
Artist – Felix Ruiz
Colours – Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letters – Rachel Deering

One of the most diverse books to come from Archie’s Dark Circle Comics imprint is The Hangman and it finds our lead character in Hell.  Literally.  Michael Minetta has died and all of his sins come back to visit him, courtesy of its lord and master – Satan.  Michael’s sins are great and though Satan would like nothing more than to keep him there for eternity, torturing him in all manner of ways, there is a greater plan in play and Michael is needed for a greater purpose, one that might involve a little redemption for him should he choose to accept.  Michael is as defiant in death as he was in life, yet when it comes right down to it, he chooses to accept and thus he becomes the new Hangman.  Frank Tieri writes this book with some hard dialogue and gives it quite an edge; something you would normally not associate with the publisher and it is an excellent read.  It is also quite a gritty book, as dealing with criminals, evil men and the realm of hell would tend to make it and Felix Ruiz delivers some very rough pencils to give the book a very distinctive style.  Together our creators make Michael a very unforgiving and very unlikeable character.  This book has no heroes nor is there any traditional villains but what it does feature are bad men and a very bad one in our leading man and it is someone you normally would not see in the role of the protagonist in a new title.  Though he decides to take up the mantle of the Hangman, you have to wonder if Michael will do what he has to in order to attain forgiveness or if he will try and use his newfound powers for his own personal gain.  The only reason Michael is able to become the Hangman is due to the will of God so there is a possibility that he will have no choice in anything he does, but it should be a quite interesting to find out.  The Hangman is wonderfully different than most anything else out today and it will be quite exciting to see what happens next.

3.5 out of 5

Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat #2

Writer – Kate Leth
Artist – Brittney L. Williams
Colours – Megan Wilson
Letters – VC’s Clayton Cowles

Due to a few unfortunate circumstances, Patsy now finds herself working retail.  It is not anything she ever thought she would be doing, especially at this stage in her life, but she needs the money and she is not getting it from anywhere else.  Like all things in her life at the moment though, it was not meant to last and Patsy finds that holding onto a job is a lot harder than she thought.  Who could have ever predicted that in 2016, Marvel Comics would be publishing a book about Patsy Walker that would hearken back and incorporate her romance comics of old?  Thanks to Kate Leth and Brittney L. Williams, that is now a reality and it is one truly fantastic book.  The best thing about this book is that Leth has taken Patsy and made this an all-ages title which was a stroke of genius and then by tying her past to the present as well as all of those times in-between including when she was dead, really provides some fan-service for long-time admirers of the character. Leth does it all flawlessly with a lot of humour and just a scant of action to keep the pace going and there is not a single moment where you find yourself less than mesmerized.  Hedy is the perfect villain for Patsy, someone whose only power is the ability to annoy and anger her at every turn, almost like a Betty and Veronica sort of relationship and you cannot help but think if things were different, that they would be the best of friends.  The artwork by Williams immediately tells you that the book cannot be taken seriously due to its cartoonish qualities and yet you would not have it any other way or see any other artist draw it.  From cover to cover, the book is a pure joy to read and it is definitely one of the highlights of Marvel’s entire publishing line.

4.5 out of 5