By: Rob Zombie (writer), Donny Hadiwidjaja (art), Val Staples (colors) & Ed Dukeshire (letters)
The Story: Baron von Shock loses his mojo (and TV series) and becomes a total loser.
What’s Good: The first issue of this Image series from Rob Zombie told the story of how a loser production assistant became an Elvira-like movie host on a local TV station back in the 1980’s. Perhaps it is just nostalgia, but I loved those sorts of things growing up when life was more simple and our TV choices were so limited that a guy hosting crummy movies on local TV could become a celebrity (of the cocaine-fueled, orgy-with-groupies variety). In this issue we see that the novelty of the Baron has worn off, rating are down and the TV station fires Leon.
This comic really seems to be about a doofus getting his 15 minutes of fame, but not really appreciating it. I think we’ve all known someone who seemed to be getting an inordinate amount of attention for doing something simple, and Leon is that guy. So, you’re happy to see him fail (since Leon is a jackass) and you laugh at him as he’s scheming a way to get back on top (since he doesn’t realize that he just got lucky). But, somehow Zombie and the art team make him an endearing enough doofus that you cheer for him to have a second run at the big time when the story catches back up with him 25 years later and he’s living with him mother and still has the same loser friends (who are all bald and fat).
What’s Not So Good: No real complaints about the story…I’m enjoying it and looking forward to the conclusion.
I will say that this is a good example of how unsung colorists are. This comic does look really nice, but when you really look at the panels it is clear that Staples had to do a lot of finishing work with some art that was a little incomplete. Much of the texture of the objects comes via the colors and not the art. Don’t forget to tip your colorists!
Conclusion: This is turning into a very fun, behind-the-scenes story of a lovable loser/bore trying to get his mojo back.
Grade: B
– Dean Stell