SHOCK Anthology by Various Authors and Artists
Expected Release: April 24th, 2018
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Aftershock Comics
Source: Edelweiss+
SHOCK Synopsis:
AfterShock Comics continues to push boundaries by presenting it’s very first anthology collection featuring a slew of today’s top writers and artists. Presented in the European Album format (same as the recent Animosity: the Rise hardcover for LCSD), this handsome hardcover features the creative talents of Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli, Charles Vess, Michael Gaydos, Andy Clarke, Andrew Robinson, Mike Carey, Jim Starlin, Phil Hester, Paul Jenkins, Dalibor Talajic, Bill Willingham, Travis Moore, Brian Azzarello, Francesco Francavilla, Cullen Bunn, Marc Guggenheim, Marguerite Bennett, Frank Tieri, Brian Stelfreeze, Szymon Kudranski and more! Cover art by John Cassaday!
From the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award nominated editor of the classic Negative Burn anthology series.
Review:
A BIG Thank You to Edelweiss+, Diamond Book Distributors and Aftershock Comics for providing me a copy of “SHOCK Anthology” in exchange for my review.
I selected “SHOCK” mainly because the cover reminded me of vintage horror comics like “Journey into mystery” and “The Vault of Horror”. I am a big fan of horror anthologies, whether it is a television show or a comic series. Another fact that drew me was that Neil Gaiman (one of my favorite authors) contributed to one of the stories. There are 21 stories in this collection, and I felt I would enjoy most of them. Unfortunately, while I found some to be truly memorable, the rest were either disappointing, confusing, or just gross.
Let’s start out with my first category of the exceptional ones which I thought were the best. “The Last Dance with You” is my favorite of them all, and the ending gave me chills. “Invasion” was fun to read because this was an homage to 50’s styled science fiction horror at its best! “Escape from the Lost World” had beautiful illustrations and creeped me mainly because of my fear of bed bugs. “Little Red Hood” was one that surprised me because I ended up liking it more than I expected. Once you get past the language, it is very sassy and shocking and kept me hooked.
“Live or Die” was another one I enjoyed reading, especially because of the haunting war-zone setting. “Berserker” was a standout, mainly because it shows the potential horror that could happen in our lives. “Devolution” had a very interesting storyline, and reminded me a disturbing version of “2001: A Space Odyssey”. I loved the concept of “Moments” and feel it could be a standalone series. “Dead City” was an exception just for the exceptional artwork.
My second category lists stories which I thought were good, but could have been better. These are not bad stories in anyway, but it didn’t stand out for me. “BloodFlies” was a good one, but I think the bright colors of the butterflies diluted the eerie mood. “Kerguelen” has some beautiful artwork but I’m not a fan of the “Mad Max” vibe it had in its story-line. “The Mountain Pass” was another interesting one, but there’s really no chill factor to it. “Dumb B****” was fun to read, but the crude illustration style felt like I was reading a children’s comic.
My third category comprises of stories that I felt had potential but got lost on me and was disappointing. “Witch Work” had some of the best illustrations in this book, but I couldn’t understand its philosophical narration. The same goes for “Iste Bu Istanbul”, which had striking artwork but I didn’t get the narrative. “Based on a True Story” started off well but the ending just made me scratch my head. “Metrocrash” is one another one that I feel had prospective, but watching two “Transformers” like machines fighting is not scary.
Then there is the final category of stories which were just too bizarre for me to comprehend. Sorry to say but “End Game” was the worst of the lot. I honestly didn’t understand what was going on. “Circle of Fear” was another strange one. I just couldn’t take those farm animals seriously as the main characters. “Paroled” was also pretty bad because it seemed like a humorous strip that didn’t gel with the book. Unfortunately, the book ended with “A Job” which just had random incidents occurring about people’s perspective on different jobs.
I would like to say that even though I had to give negative feedback to some stories, kudos to all the people who were involved in this anthology series. It takes a lot of creativity and hard work to showcase your stories, and I applaud you all. Overall, “SHOCK” has an eclectic variety of stories that some would like and dislike. It is definitely worth reading! 3.5 out of 5 stars.
