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How do you improve one of the best horror anthology comic books in the shop today? Simple, you get innovative and that’s what we get in Ice Cream Man #43. This issue includes 24 one-page horror stories written by various awesome guest authors.
ICE CREAM MAN #43
Written By W. Maxwell Prince & Various – Art By Martìn Morazzo
Colors By Chris O’Halloran – Letters By Good Old Neon
Published By Image Comics
***Minor Spoilers Possible***
One Page at a Time
Ice Cream Man #43 is made up of 24 one-page horror stories, brought to you by 11 different writers. Each story is standalone and only tied together by our guide The Ice Cream Man. This is a very risky and innovative choice for the issue, but we will discuss that later. Let’s dive into some of the featured stories.
Grant Morrison brings us Hell Freezes, a tale of the day hell freezes over and what the inhabitants of hell will do. In a different story, Matt Fraction shares Life by Misadventure. This tale speaks of a man that experiences different deaths by misadventure. Kelly Sue Decconick writes a very poetic tale called Missy in the Middle.
Not to be outdone, Geoff Johns pens a tale about a chef that is in a race against time called Lickety Split. Even a celebrity gets involved as Patton Oswalt writes a story titled Night Fishing, about friends trying to get in touch with the other side. Plus, so much more!
Turn the Page, Find a New Horror
This issue is jam packed with super talented writers who bring something different to each page. Ice Cream Man’s creator and full-time writer W. Maxwell Prince has multiple stories in this issue, which really ties in the lore of the series. Besides the writers mentioned in the previous section, we also get stories from Deniz Camp, Zoe Thorogood, Jeff Lemire, Frank Barbiere, and Good Old Neon. Some tales outshine others, but all of them capture a different voice and tone. There is literally something for everybody in this story.
The art department really out does itself in this issue. It would’ve been convenient to make all the art match and look alike. However, every tale has a different look, feel, and color pallet. Which is astounding and awesome considering the art was handled by the same team, except for one story that had guest art from Zoe Thorogood. Martìn Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran, and Good Old Neon deserve their flowers for this successful issue.
Check Out My Review of Ice Cream Man #42
Final Thoughts
Ice Cream Man #43 is a master class on what innovation can bring to the table. As risky as the idea was, it pays off in dividends. Is this issue perfect, no, but it is exceptional and should be a must read this week. When you hit up your LCS make sure you save room to add this issue to your collection.
Overall Grade: 9.5/10
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