Zadzooks: Soul Kiss, X-Men Forever and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Colossus of Destiny reviews

This chronic feature lets me review what recently has passed my bloodshot pupils. So pull up a chair, break out the sarcasm filter and welcome to:

Mr. Zad’s comic critique

Soul Kiss, trade-size hardcover (Image Comics, $29.99) - Man of Action Studios’ Steven T. Seagle offers more guidance as to why it’s a bad idea to make a deal with the devil.

This five-issue miniseries has been compiled in a hardbound book highlighting both the colorful story (slightly larger than a standard comic book page) and the behind-the-scenes efforts of the creators.

In the woeful tale, the fine line between flirtation and damnation finds a hardened gal named Lili Bloom on a quest to return her love from hell.

After her car breaks down on a deserted highway, an attack by a bad Samaritan forces Lili to make a deal with Lucifer. The pact for her life results in the loss of her boyfriend, after a kiss, and a terrible counterdeal must be struck to bring him back.

Specifically, our mild-mannered production assistant must kill 10 people via her kiss to return her boyfriend. And death is not pleasant for her victims. Mr. Seagle commands voracious moths to swarm the kissees and consume them into a bloody mess.

The potential for black humor is obvious as Lili must choose her victims carefully or deal with the horrific results of an accident.

Unfortunately, artist Marco Cinello’s angular, sketchy style never feels finished and rarely brings out the humor or horror of the prose. Panels often look like Cartoon Network storyboards.

Despite a clever story that would work well in a “Creepshow” movie-of-the-week format, the $30 price tag makes this a cost-prohibitive favorite for the comic book reader.

Mr. Cinello’s artwork is not enough of a draw, and Dark Horse Comics offers a bunch of much more reasonably priced ghoulish efforts, such as a newly reborn Creepy series ($4.99 each), to satisfy the fan of the macabre.

X-Men Forever, nos. 1 to 14 (Marvel Publishing, $3.99 each) - For those who remember X-Men architect Chris Claremont’s 16-year reign over the Marvel creator chain, have I got a comic book series for you.

Let’s pretend it’s 1991 and allow Mr. Claremont to pick up where issue No. 4 of X-Men (the Volume 2 launch) might have begun. Of course, we know he left the series after issue No. 3 and gave up on his mutants for years.

Unfortunately, there’s no Jim Lee artwork to savor in this new series, but the plot is as angst-ridden as any soap opera. In fact, it’s just like the good old days of the X-Men.

Let’s recap. Fabian Cortez is on the run after killing Magneto and it’s up to the team of Wolverine, Beast, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, Gambit, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat to find the guy.

Story Continues →