Published by Sugar Skull Media

PREVIOUSLY: Halloween Man #6

One again we get multiple stories in one issue, a full-length story by the main creative team and three short stories with other artists and a new writer. So, as before, I shall review and grade each story separately.

THE TERRIBLE FRUIT BATS part 1
Written by Drew Edwards
Drawn by Sergio Calvet

This is the main story, stepping outside of Solar City, the action takes place in a “low-tech town” called Nilbog in Texas. A camera crew from a Hoax-hunters-like TV show are in the woods looking to expose the myth of creatures known as skunk-apes. When most of the crew go missing, it’s up to Solomon and Lucy to go to Nilbog to investigate. Bringing along their allies Ron the Man-Goat and Nickodemis, they travel to Nilbog via a flying jet-powered coffin, where they learn that the town appears to have been conquered by a legion of Bat-like vampires. In addition to the action there’s a running subplot in this story that something is wrong with Solomon, whose been having weird visions and feeling bad. He even pukes at one (I didn’t know zombies could do that). It’s a good mix of horror/superhero story that is typical of the strip. Creator Edwards has advertised this as a good jumping on point for new readers, and I concur with that assessment.

WORKING STIFFS
Written by Drew Edwards
Drawn by Nicola Scott
Inked by Mike Furth

This is an earlier Halloween Man story from the strip’s days as a webcomic. A freaky gang of vampires break into a building to steal a time machine but Solomon, Lucy, and Man-Goat arrive to stop them and a bloody fight ensues. This story is mostly notable for the introduction of the gang’s leader, a 6-armed “alpha vampire”, who will undoubtedly become a major nemesis of Solomon’s.

KAIJU A-GO-GO
Written by Brian J. Crowley
Drawn by Caitlin Butler Touchton

A giant blue lizard-monster is attacking Solar City and Solomon is trying to fight it using a giant robot exo-skeleton (y’know, like the movie Pacific Rim), but he isn’t having much luck. Thankfully Lucy shows up, inexplicably grown to giant-size, to fight the monster herself. The writing by Crowley was good, I enjoy the story, but unfortunately it is brought down by Touchton’s amatuerish-looking art.

MIGHTY MAN-GOAT TAKES THE CAKE
Written by Russell Hillman
Drawn by Mike Furth

This is a one-page story which is a parody of the old Hostess Snack-food ads that used to frequently appear in comic-books, where a superhero would defeat a supervillain by distracting him with twinkies or something like that. Man-Goat uses similar means to save to super-heroines from a dastardly villain. It’s clever and funny.

Altogether this is another solid package, 48 pages for just #1.99. If you haven’t been reading Halloween Man what the bloody heck are you waiting for?!?

Halloween Man #7