3 out of 5

There’s surely a forum somewhere that I can commiserate with fellow comic fans who aren’t instantly impressed by Richard Corben’s art.  I do like the guy, and he was a danged perfect fit on The Crooked Man, his appearance just doesn’t necessarily excite me, as he has a comfort zone that people write to (that he writes to) that leads to a lot of repeated imagery.

I will say, while Mignola tossed him a cool demon beasty to draw in this one-shot – in which HB rescuses a damsel from a religious cult, then has to fend off said beasty – some of the layouts feel atypical of Corben, leading to some truly satisfying moments.  Combined with Dave Stewart’s bright, blood orange / blood red colors, scattered pages are impressive to look at.  And the turn the story takes is equally rewarding.  But the book reads slightly at odds with itself, tonally, hitting on humorous beats in an otherwise ominous build-up – something it does near from the start – and Corben’s timing on these moments is off, resulting in a reading experience the never fully gets off the ground.  Every few pages I felt I was settling in, and then it’d hit one of those snags again; it’s neither scary nor funny nor mythy enough to make a big impression.