Yo, Ho, Ho and A Bottle of Skullkickers

Review by Shaun Daniels and Edited by Sharon Wong

Skullkickers Issue 13

Written by Jim Zub, Line Art by Edwin Huang, Colors by Misty Coats, Art Assist by Kevin Raganit & Ludwig Olimba, Letters by Marshall Dillon, Cover by Saejin Oh and Published by Image Comics. Retail Price $3.50

The idea of being one of the only two men aboard a pirate ship being crewed by women sounds like a male fantasy on the ocean.  Skullkickers issue 13 explores this fantasy, which turns out to be less of a fantasy, and more like the beginning of highfalutin high seas adventures.  This issue also marks the return of the book after the creative team took a much needed and deserved break.  There were very few things that the staff at The Fright Channel & Horror Haven were looking forward to this spring; one was the return of baseball, particularly the Red Sox, and Skullkickers the other.  Sit right back because Zub and crew will tell a tale, a tale of the fateful Skullkickers.

The Skullkicker duo are on the lamb and taking refuge as stowaways on a pirate ship with the catch being the entire crew comprised only of women.  Normally, a ship full of women doesn’t sound all that bad but it’s the Skullkickers, so fights ensue.  Unbeknownst to the duo, Kusia, the same assassin who previously tried to kill the duo, is also hiding out on the ship but the first to be discovered.  After an encounter with the crew and its captain, Cherry Cutlass, Kusia vouches for their life.  Everyone is adopted into the crew and things seem to be going swimmingly, that is until dangerous cargo threatens the life of everyone on the ship!!

Zub continues to balance big action, fun and character development.  In this issue, we start to see the bald guy get fleshed out a little bit more.  The connection to Kusia begins to show and the reason why she decided to spare his life (see issue 11) becomes clearer.  Huang and the art crew are one of the top art teams working in comics right now.  Huang’s line work just exudes the fun and action that can hardly be contained within the panels while Coats’ colors creates layers to the art that few colorists can do.  As for the lettering, Dillon is one of the best in the industry.  His whimsical approach to lettering during the fight scenes adds to the humor of the book.  The big lettering stands out in the pie-in-the-face panel with the word “classic” lettered in.

Skullkickers is what more comics should be like…FUN!!  If you haven’t read any books in this series yet, start here and shell over your hard-earned dinero as it’s well worth it.

Feedback is always welcomed at shaun@horrorhaven.com and sharon@horrorhaven.com.  Be sure to friend us on facebook, follow us on twitter @FrightChannel, and subscribe to our RSS feed so you’ll never miss any news and reviews.

Also, don’t forget to check out the The Fright Channel, the Internet’s favorite 24-hour internet horror television station.

Support Us

Blogs

Featured

logo
logo
logo
logo
logo
logo

Verified by MonsterInsights