The Mushroom Murders GN
Creator's Edge Press
Writer and Creator: Chad Anderson
Penciler: Robert Keough
Inker: Jeff Coney
Colorists: Thom Fuegel, Victor Claudio, and Rachel Morris
Letters: Robert Simon and Gabe Strine
Reviewer: Robert McClelland
Summary: Delaware City was a peaceful little port town until its citizens started getting slaughtered! At the scene of each crime, all that is left is a small pile of ash and one creepy little mushroom. The police bring in two expendable detectives, Sterling Silversmith and Emerald Johnson, who are in way over their heads as they try to stop any more deaths!
Review: Now with a name like 'The Mushroom Murders', you are probably thinking “What!? This about some guy who kills folks and leaves a mushroom at the scene of the crime!?” And well, you would only be slightly right in that line of thinking. And what CEP does with this title, will leave readers either happy with its ending, or fairly unhappy because they love typical endings. As for me, I was honestly surprised by the end, mainly as I kept expecting something else to happen but it never did. Robert Keough's art is consistent all through out the book, and never gave me any problems. The colors provided by Feugel, Claudio, and Morris do a great job in bringing the art to life as well. Especially on the cover! Though I'm not exactly sure who did it, but never the less, they managed to make it look fairly creepy. And yep, an FBI agent calling Mushrooms icky little mushroom plants really is a sign of professionalism right there at one point in the story.
Chad manages to mix quite a few things into this story very nicely, not only do we get some hidden romance, but we get some terror, some douche baggeryness, and some slight racism to boot as well. Something I liked about this graphic novel, is that it didn't feel rushed in anyway. Everything happened at a nice pace from start to finish and didn't feel like it had something that could have been held off for a second volume. Like how I felt with a couple of other titles I've read in the past.
TMM also nicely mixes in a little history that includes the Civil War, which is pretty much where things actually begin thanks in part to that douche baggeryness I mentioned earlier. If the man who ran the fort that kept War prisoners from the South hadn't been such a greedy jerk and just been happy having girls, life wouldn't have found itself getting screwed over cause of him. Making deals with things beyond your comprehension is bad, even if you do have a good idea of what you're doing. While its twisted, I like how each member of the Destroying Angel's Circle each pretty much has their own set of people they have to go after. Though a comment about mother-in-laws being more scary then mushrooms is pretty amusing. How I missed that the first time around when reading this is beyond me. And trying to learn about things can seriously back fire on ya sometimes!
Sometimes using the gun first is always a good idea. And its something I imagine the book's main character is going to be pondering on for a long time to come. That is, if he's able to even do that. I can't say I blame what his girlfriend does as well, cause she could clearly see the writing on the wall for what it was. And is it just me, or does the Destroying Angel also kind of look like a woman as well? Could be I'm just being weird. At any rate, I honestly believe Chad did a solid writing job on this title from start to finish. So if you like endings that deviate from the normal, this just may be for you!
5 out of 5 Stars
Editor's Note: To grab yourself a copy of The Mushroom Murders, head over to the Creator's Edge Press website!
Creator's Edge Press
Writer and Creator: Chad Anderson
Penciler: Robert Keough
Inker: Jeff Coney
Colorists: Thom Fuegel, Victor Claudio, and Rachel Morris
Letters: Robert Simon and Gabe Strine
Reviewer: Robert McClelland
Summary: Delaware City was a peaceful little port town until its citizens started getting slaughtered! At the scene of each crime, all that is left is a small pile of ash and one creepy little mushroom. The police bring in two expendable detectives, Sterling Silversmith and Emerald Johnson, who are in way over their heads as they try to stop any more deaths!
Review: Now with a name like 'The Mushroom Murders', you are probably thinking “What!? This about some guy who kills folks and leaves a mushroom at the scene of the crime!?” And well, you would only be slightly right in that line of thinking. And what CEP does with this title, will leave readers either happy with its ending, or fairly unhappy because they love typical endings. As for me, I was honestly surprised by the end, mainly as I kept expecting something else to happen but it never did. Robert Keough's art is consistent all through out the book, and never gave me any problems. The colors provided by Feugel, Claudio, and Morris do a great job in bringing the art to life as well. Especially on the cover! Though I'm not exactly sure who did it, but never the less, they managed to make it look fairly creepy. And yep, an FBI agent calling Mushrooms icky little mushroom plants really is a sign of professionalism right there at one point in the story.
Chad manages to mix quite a few things into this story very nicely, not only do we get some hidden romance, but we get some terror, some douche baggeryness, and some slight racism to boot as well. Something I liked about this graphic novel, is that it didn't feel rushed in anyway. Everything happened at a nice pace from start to finish and didn't feel like it had something that could have been held off for a second volume. Like how I felt with a couple of other titles I've read in the past.
TMM also nicely mixes in a little history that includes the Civil War, which is pretty much where things actually begin thanks in part to that douche baggeryness I mentioned earlier. If the man who ran the fort that kept War prisoners from the South hadn't been such a greedy jerk and just been happy having girls, life wouldn't have found itself getting screwed over cause of him. Making deals with things beyond your comprehension is bad, even if you do have a good idea of what you're doing. While its twisted, I like how each member of the Destroying Angel's Circle each pretty much has their own set of people they have to go after. Though a comment about mother-in-laws being more scary then mushrooms is pretty amusing. How I missed that the first time around when reading this is beyond me. And trying to learn about things can seriously back fire on ya sometimes!
Sometimes using the gun first is always a good idea. And its something I imagine the book's main character is going to be pondering on for a long time to come. That is, if he's able to even do that. I can't say I blame what his girlfriend does as well, cause she could clearly see the writing on the wall for what it was. And is it just me, or does the Destroying Angel also kind of look like a woman as well? Could be I'm just being weird. At any rate, I honestly believe Chad did a solid writing job on this title from start to finish. So if you like endings that deviate from the normal, this just may be for you!
5 out of 5 Stars
Editor's Note: To grab yourself a copy of The Mushroom Murders, head over to the Creator's Edge Press website!