- Beast of Bower Boulevard #1
- American Mythology Productions
- Written by G.O. Parsons
- Illustrated by Carlos Rod
- Colors by Carlos Lopes
- Letters by Fabricio Grellet
From Willy’s Wonderland creator G.O. Parsons and superstar artist Carlos Rod comes a thrill ride story of sci-fi, suspense, and horror. Fearing a massive avalanche occurred, a deputy and his family are sent to investigate the welfare of a secluded ski town. Upon arrival, they discover the resort is under deadly assault by a mechanized, militarized, robotic dinosaur. This is the first chapter in an exhilarating 3-part story arc. Get your animatronic atrocities lined up because this one’s gonna be a bloodbath!
I read a lot of comics, both for review & because at the ripe old age of never-you-mind I still love them. All kinds of comics, from the heroes in tights variety to pulpy sci fi and adventure, they’ve got a place on my shelf. Many of the comics I love are stories with layers & meaning beyond their action. A lot of ‘em are the equivalent of grabbing a tub of popcorn & shutting off my higher brain functions for some blessed escapism. You know… fun!
Take a look at the cover of Beast of Bower Boulevard. What category do you think a comic featuring a giant T-Rex with a mechanical buzzsaw arm might fit into?
Start to finish, screenwriter turned comic writer G.O. Parsons (Willy’s Wonderland) has my heart & soul bound up in this book. He’s aiming for the afternoon horror matinee crowd, and that mark has been hit, dead on, fire for effect. The story itself is something right out of a direct to video slaughterfest from the 90s. Military makes monster. Military loses control of monster. Monster goes on murderous rampage. Oh sure, Parsons throws in characters and stuff. There’s even some emotional content in the form of an angsty teen, a mom with a troubled past, and a cop who wears his badge with honor & integrity.
Did I mention the giant mechanical dinosaur?
Okay, cool… So artist Carlos Rod is working magic here. His illustrations harken back to the schlocky old horror ‘zines of the 70’s and 80’s. The character designs are as straightforward as they come, all just regular people with chiseled features dealing with insane events. The backgrounds have all the seeds planted, dropping hints to what’s coming. All of it leads an eager reader to the payoff for the issue, just like the reveal in whatever horror movie you might’ve seen when you were probably too young to see it… BB. Rod spoons it out little by little, with parts of the monster seen in shadow, glimpses of a blood-soaked mechanical horror. I’m starting to gush but it all just makes me so happy!
Rounding out the visual appeal is the spot-on work of colorist Carlos Lopes. The color palette is all about hyper contrasts, going from bright to stark with very little transition in between. The pages aren’t always clean, colors aren’t always neatly in the lines, but this is a book that’s perfect in its imperfections. Even the lettering by Fabricio Grellet leans hard into the old-school chaos, with throwback sound effects laying out the finishing touches. It all screams of a period of comics before computer assisted polish.
If you’re looking for pure mayhem in a comic that takes joy in its reckless abandon, where else do you go but to the one with an out-of-control robot dinosaur? I think the answer is in the question. The only thing left unanswered is who I need to defenestrate to get all these comics in floppy?
Final Score: 12/13
