Alright! My faithful HALLOWEEN-loving fans, we have the
very next installment of Stefan
Hutchinson’s latest (and awesome) comic mini-series, HALLOWEEN: THE
FIRST DEATH OF LAURIE STRODE, from Devil’s Due Publishing.
If you’d like a refresher of the first
installment, simply click HERE
for my review of
it. That way, we can jump right into all
the grand tricks and treats of this current issue. Here we go:
What stood out to me immediately at
the start of issue number two was this:
Dr. Sam Loomis is BACK in all his grand, facial-scarred, “he is
evil! glory!"
Yes, clearly
this second issue was made out to be The Sam Show and that was a-okay with me! I swear I could hear Donald Pleasance’s sharp
English accent in my mind every time I read Sam’s dialogue (which by the way,
was spot-on perfect for the character).
It seems that Dr. Loomis has taken up residence in Haddonfield in order
to ensure that his former patient (you know who) is indeed truly deceased. This leads to a great confrontation with
Sheriff Leigh Brackett as well as Deputy Gary Hunt. It was just so nice seeing these side
characters from the first two HALLOWEEN’s brought back and serves as yet
another reminder of this comic’s creator’s exquisite attention to the details
of the world encompassing all that is Michael Myers.
Another aspect that this latest
issue focuses on is the steady decline of Laurie Strode physically and mentally
as she attempts to move on after the events that took her friends’ lives and
nearly hers. This is handled with such
harsh realism that I can fully accept it as the normal progression of her
character. It also gives perfect insight
into the closeted alcoholic we are introduced to in the older Laurie Strode of
HALLOWEEN: H20.
This sincerely is
the first death of Laurie Strode and it
is poetically tragic.
“What about our old friend The Shape?”
Well, even though this second issue does not fall anywhere near October
31st, we are still given a somewhat subtle, but still kick-ass dose
of that man with the “blackest eyes”. In
fact, his presence looms all over the pages of this issue, even though he isn’t
always shown. It’s a brilliant way of
showing how his character becomes legendary to the town of
And as always, the artwork by Jeff
Zornow and Nick Filardi is nothing short of exceptional. Their colors transcend the two-dimensional pages
and deliver the action of a ride at an amusement park. Plus, we are even treated to some tasteful
and lovely pieces of female nudity in this issue to go along with the striking
visions of gore. An excellent balance if
I do say so. In closing, I can’t help but once
again highly recommend this comic to any and every fan of HALLOWEEN as well as
the genre in general. It’s smart
storytelling that still understands that horror must be the main highlight. Oh, how I wish that this series was the true filmed
sequel to HALLOWEEN II.
GET
ISSUE 2 OF THE DEATH OF LAURIE STRODE HERE
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