NO PLACE LIKE HOME #1

Review by: JohnnyDestructo

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Avg Rating: 3.8
 
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Story by Angelo Tirotto
Art by Richard Jordan
Cover by Richard Jordan & Ian Churchill

Size: 0 pages
Price: 2.99

Boobs.

Honestly, that’s what grabbed my attention. I hate to be a stereotype, because I pride myself on being anything but, however…yeah. Boobs. That say “Surrender” Then…oh, it’s called “No Place Like Home”. Must be a retelling of Wizard of Oz, but with boobs. Sigh. I’ve already seen one episode of the television series Grimm, and several unfortunate episodes of the series Ever After. On top of that, I’ve been subjected to the absolutely awful Tin Man, wherein Zooey Deschanel’s huge eyes portray a modern version of Dorothy (named Dee Gee) and travels to a place just like Oz (or Outer Zone), but everything has an ironic or “cool” name twist. Ugh. Just awful.

But hey, the boob-I mean the cover looks pretty cool. Beautifully painted, and there’s something about it. The way her eyes are staring directly into yours, and she’s wearing something that could either be a smile or a snarl, but you can’t quite figure out which. But hey, it’s probably a different, less talented artist doing the interiors…Oh, lookit that! The same artist is actually responsible for the interiors!

With that, I decided I would give it a try.

Yep, sure enough, it’s a new take on the OZ story, but if the book’s title wasn’t so obvious, I’m not sure I would have picked it up. Yes some of the elements are there, a twister, a main character named Dee, a cute little puppy, (ugh, the town is called Emeraldsville) but everything else screams horror movie. The girl returns home due to a tragedy, she hangs out with girlfriends who are clearly less moral (and will therefore die), there’s a town secret that all the elders know about and hell, there’s even the town drunk, paper-bag-booze and all, screaming prophetic DOOM up and down the street. This is the beginning to a potentially great horror story.

I should also mention that while her chesticles are what initially grabbed my attention, like any quality female, there was actual substance. On one hand, I think to myself “Darlin’, you are a quality story with a solid head on your shoulders. You’re smart, you’re strong-willed and you know what you want…you shouldn’t have to stoop to showing me your cleavage on the cover. Have some self-respect. Then, on the other hand…it worked. So who am I to judge?

Speaking of the cover, the artist is not shy with a brush or the ink on it, and this book feels dark even in the light. Richard Jordan has a Steve Pugh style, but much prettier. His women are actually attractive, which is nice. I don’t know why I haven’t seen his work up until now, but I can’t wait to see more of it.

This book was just screaming for me to read it and it didn’t disappoint. It’s got mystery, gore, punk rock girls and an actual story. As this is Volume One, I’m hoping that this is going to be an ongoing series, because if it maintains the quality of the first issue, I have a great reading experience ahead of me. And so do you, go out and buy this already!

Story: 4 - Very Good
Art: 4 - Very Good

Comments

  1. Great review Johnny. You addressed very well my initial question about the book…(what’s with the underage-looking girl showing her chest on the cover that could get me arrested in some states)…sounds like it would read better in collected TPB but who knows if it’ll get that far, so I’ll probably buy it in issues.

    The horror angle sounds interesting, loved your comment about Pugh, made me immediately understand what to expect.

    • Thanks so much, Urthona!

      I’d definitely recommend picking this up in issues. I’m more for waiting for the trade with top selling books than these little indie books.

      Let me know what you think about my Pugh comparison, if you think it’s on point or not!

  2. I’ll tell you, if I saw the Ian Churchill variant cover and not the other one, I’m not entirely sure I would have picked it up. I’ve never been a fan of his work, and would probably have just skipped the book outright

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