A while back I reviewed a pair of initial offerings from the Argentine small press company Pit Bros. Productions. They’ve since sent me the subsequent issues of these books, and I’m happy to say they’re both still on track. It’s actually a bit hard to write these reviews because there isn’t a major change, but of course other bloggers review series issue-by-issue all the time, so it can be done.
I’ll start with HENRY AND BUTCHER #2 because it’s the one I went to first. This issue sees Henry locked in an insane asylum, the dark, oppressive kind where they still prescribe electric shock for most conditions. Butcher appears in dreams and visions promising to help him escape, which seems to support the “you are crazy” hypothesis, but another visitor to Henry’s cell tells him that some very sinister business is going on. Once again it’s hard to say what’s just insanity and what may be genuine supernatural happenings, and the creepy surrealism is broken up by some very effective fist fights. This story is developing very, very nicely; it’ll be interesting to see how it handles over the long haul. Grade: A-
THE LEGEND OF JOE MOON #1 is once again a much more straightforward affair. I’ve never actually understood the whole “#0” practice in comics, but this does work as a first issue in that it sets up the basics- it’s the Old West, and our main character is a bounty hunter/werewolf. We see him as he collects the bounty from the job in #0, and naturally spends it on whisky and women. All well and good, but the father of the two men he killed is in town and wants payback, and so fighting ensues, with Joe also being put into the awkward position of visibly surviving stabbings and shots that would kill anyone normal. It’s conventional stuff, but the action is sharp and the writing and art solid. Grade: B+
The good news is that you can now actually buy these comics, albeit not on the rack just yet. They’re selling these as POD titles at Indyplanet.com, a site I’ve never used before but which seems on the up-and-up (reasonable shipping rates, at least.) I’ll list all the direct purchase links below. The company is also soliciting work for a horror anthology, and generally seems to be on an upward trajectory. They’re producing good stuff and if they manage to stay in it for the long haul, things may get interesting.
Henry and Butcher #1
Henry and Butcher #2
The Legend of Joe Moon #0
The Legend of Joe Moon #1
Pit Bros. Productions
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