Paranormal Pop Comics Oct. 17

BY ERIN WOLF

Halloween is just around the corner and if you’re looking for a few comics titles that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, then you’ve come to the right place. Zenescope takes on a reimagining of the story of the headless horseman in "Sleepy Hollow" #1, Oni Press has little Courtney Crumrin on the run from some very scary cloaked individuals while Womanthology presents the mysteries and perils of space exploration and Marvel reboots the whole dang universe in "Marvel Now! Point One." All this and more in this week’s jam packed pre-Halloween spooktacular Paranormal Pop Comics Rundown:

Sleepy Hollow #1 – Pick of the Week!
Zenescope
Created and Story by Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, Raven Gregory; Written by Dan Wickline; Art by AC Osorio and Chandran Ponnusamy

The creators of the popular Grimm’s Fairy Tales series are at it again. It was only a matter of time until Zenescope, a company who is well known for revamping children’s stories into adult comic books, covered the haunting "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Wickline wastes not a moment getting to the gory good stuff as the book opens with a beheading flashback sequence before he even introduces protagonist and all around nice guy, Craig Marsters. Craig is a student aid with the world at his fingertips, that is, until he gets mixed up with wrong crowd and a silly prank goes horribly wrong. I don’t want to spoil anything for you but I think somebody is going to lose their head…


Courtney Crumrin #6
Oni Press
Written and artwork by Ted Naifeh

Cute little Courtney Crumrin has gotten herself into a whole mess of trouble and is on the run. As we follow her and Calpurnia on a "French Connection" style car chase through winding tunnels and treacherous mountain terrain, we learn that the girls still have a few magical tricks up their sleeves. As they try and shake their tail of a very persistent triumvirate of cloaked Marshals with flying capabilities, they almost get away, until an unexpected visitor shows up to stop them. "Courtney Crumrin" continues to be one of the most underrated series on the market, but caution to the buyer who wants to pick up this book, keep in mind that this issue #6 is far, far into the story line. If possible, better start back at the beginning, trust me, you won’t regret it.

Marvel Now! Point One
Marvel
Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in “NYSE” Written by Nick Spencer; Art by Luke Ross
Star-Lord in “Guardians of the Galaxy” Written by Brian Bendis; Art by Steve Mcniven
Nova in “Diamondhead” Written by Jeph Loeb; Art by Ed Mcguinness
Miss America in “The New World” Written by Kieron Gillen; Art by Jamie Mckelvie and Mike Norton
Ant-Man in “It’s Art” Written by Matt Fraction; Art by Michael Allred
Forge in “Crazy Enough” Written by Dennis Hopeless; Art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta

Let’s start at the beginning…because that’s exactly what Marvel has done in this first issue of their latest effort to refresh, reboot and renew the Universe in the "Marvel Now!" Series. A virtual smorgasbord of origin stories, Point One introduces the background to five of some of Marvel’s most beloved comic book characters – Nick Fury, teenage Star-lord, Nova, Miss America, Ant-Man and Forge. While the book is expensive, $5.99, it is a great launch pad for novice comics fans who want to jump start an obsession into the magical world of the Marvel Universe. The book also features some of the best writers and artists that only the most popular modern comic book company in the world can offer…and yet, I still kinda wish I had bought "Marvel’s Zombie Halloween" #1 issue which was also released this week.

Womanthology: Space #2
IDW
"Yanka" Written by Blair Butler; Art by Alicia Fernandez
"The Agency" Written by Joelle Sellner, Art by Jean Kang
"All Cats are Quantum" Written by Ellise Heiskel; Art by Maarta Laiho

To boldly go where no man has gone before, send a woman. Thanks to one of the most successful kickstarter projects of all time comes the colorful second issue of Womanthology…the Space edition. Yes, this is the second anthology of comics I chose to read this week. Yet, other than the obvious issue of crediting more artists and writers, I rather enjoyed this particular compact copy of lady art. From a bio strip of Valentina Tereshkova, to an office full of mutated employees and ending with a love letter to space cats, Womanthology: Space was an interesting departure from the mundane day to day Superhero strips currently flooding the market. Although next time, I could do without the cats. I hate cats.

Also released this week:
American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares
Vertigo
The Darkness #107
Top Cow
Freaks of the Heartland Scriptbook
IDW
Harbinger #5
Valiant
Marvel Zombies Halloween #1
Marvel
Saucer Country #8
Vertigo
The Walking Dead #103
Image
Witchblade: Demon Reborn #3 (of 4)
IDW

Paranormal Pop Comics News:
George A. Romero to write secret Zombie comic for Marvel
Horror icon and often hailed as the Grandfather of the Zombie genre, George A. Romero has revealed he’s writing a comic for Marvel according to CBR's Robot 6 blog. "I’m writing it now, but its plot is a secret," the 72-year-old filmmaker told Twitch who later added, "Well, I can tell you it won’t involve any of their on-going characters, there will be no superheroes. But it will involve zombies!" This will not be Romero's first venture into comic books, he wrote the DC miniseries "Toe Tags" in 2004 which was based on an unused movie script.