Shellshock #1 Review

Overview

Writer: John Arcudi, Michael W. Conrad. Julio Anta, Benito Cereno, William Gaines, Al Feldstein

Artist: Shawn Martinbrough, Albert Monteys, David Lapham, Tom Fowler, Jack Davis

Letterer: Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Tyler Smith

Cover Artist: Lee Bermejo

Prepare Yourself For Shellshock #1 is a classic-anthology-style comic where various creative teams explore the horrors of war from WWII to a galaxy far away (no, no… not Star Wars, a different galaxy…).

Writing

Each writer brings their own delicious dish to the pot luck! The soldier who’s last day before going home will haunt her for the rest of her days. The American and German troops that call a truce in order to join in a very special Christmas celebration. A CIA engineer obsessed with taking down Fidel Castro. The story of how an interplanetary council achieved galactic peace beyond compromise. And, finally, a Colonel gives his cowardly son an opportunity to make him proud. Every one of these stories hits the mark. Each feels like an episode of the Twilight Zone in the best possible way. The reprint of Yellow to close it out was a very nice touch. Yellow is a classic written by legendary EC Comics publisher William Gaines, EC comics writer Al Feldstein and eC Comics artist Jack Davis in the 1952 anthology Shock SuspenStories #1. It was so influential that HBO’s Tales from the Crypt adapted the story for it’s third season finale! Great to see it in print again!

Art

The art in this book is really nicely done if for no other reason than it felt like I was reading a book that was released in 1979. Each story feels old and new at the same time and that really enhances the way these stories hit with a kind of uncomfortable imbalance that stabilizes as you get further along. I couldn’t choose just one that was my favorite. Each artist complimented their collaborator perfectly. It was both disturbing and a joy to ingest.

Final Thoughts

You don’t need to be a fan of war stories to appreciate this immaculate collection! The stories included between the covers of this book (magazine?) are pure poetry and the art brings each vignette to life. If you like twisty and unpredictable tales in the vein of the classic Rod Serling Twilight Zone series, this is a book you will enjoy and tell people about for some time to come.

Overall Grade

10/10