Haunt #1 Reviews/Spoilers

[myuserid Lantern Hex Find all posts View Profile Close myuserid]

So, who read it? What did you think?

After reading the CBR review the other day, I kind of felt disappointed going in, but after reading the issue, I thought this was a pretty solid first issue.

Sure the art was hit or miss. I think Ottley is holding back to try and blend in with McFarlane's inks. I'm hoping he'll really let loose in the coming months and let his distinct pencils work their magic on this book.

From a writing stand point, I think Kirkman has done it again. He's really one of the best writers in the business right now and he just continues to prove that with this issue.

Lots of setup in this one. Plenty of little nuggets to further the story down the line. I look forward to seeing where they go with this one.

I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

[Guest Close Projekt]

i ordered it today, cant wait!!!

[Willpower The Gunslinger Find all posts View Profile Close Willpower]

I really enjoyed it. I liked the art; I just figured that was supposed to be the style, but if you say he's better, then that sounds good to me! I was suprised at how the "hero" was formed, and there's a lot to find out still. I'll definately be getting this every month for the forseeable future.

[Bruce Castle Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Bruce Castle]

Everyone's enjoying it? I've read everything Kirkman's written, but man, after seeing those reviews...

I thought I would skip it in trade too. Now, we'll have to see. This review was particularly fun. Take that, McFarlane!

All comics readers have had their guilty pleasures. For me, it was Spawn, the 1990s book that achieved huge sales in the wake of Todd McFarlane's defection from Marvel to create Image comics with a handful of other like-minded creators.

I'd already been a huge fan of McFarlane's work on Amazing Spider-Man, during which he co-created one of the most memorable villains that the character has ever fought: Venom. The character concept was fairly shallow, with an amoral journalist brought back from the brink of suicide by an alien symbiote that gifted him with superhuman powers and a cool-looking black-and-white liquid costume with bright-white eyes.

The inclusion of some slightly pretentious religious elements and a vague drive to protect "innocents" seemed like a transparent attempt to give a flat character more depth. Nevertheless, many readers (including me) liked Venom a lot, and the villain went on to become one of the most popular characters of the late 80s/early 90s--starring in countless Amazing Spider-Man stories as well as several of his own spin-off miniseries.

Shortly after leaving Marvel to form Image, McFarlane introduced the public to another of his most famous creations: Spawn. The character concept was fairly shallow, with an amoral black ops soldier brought back from the dead by a demonic entity that gifted him with supernatural powers and a cool-looking black-and-white liquid costume with glowing eyes.

The inclusion of some slightly pretentious religious elements and a vague drive to protect the innocence of the family that he left behind seemed like a transparent attempt to give a flat character more depth. Nevertheless, many readers (including me) liked him a lot, and Spawn went on to become one of the most popular characters of the early-to-mid 90s--starring in his own ongoing title as well as several spin-off miniseries.

The success of Spawn saw McFarlane propelled to comics superstardom. Over the course of the following years, he amassed a hugely successful business empire (including his own range of toys and collectibles). However, many felt that he had moved too far away from his roots, and that he wasn't spending enough time working in the medium in which he had made his name in the first place.

One such critic was Image comics writer Robert Kirkman, who publicly confronted McFarlane from the audience during a panel at a comics convention in 2006 and challenged the artist to work with him on a comics project. Regardless of whether that confrontation was a contrived publicity stunt, it set the stage for a collaboration between the two creators that would eventually see print three years later. Yes, this week finally sees the debut of Haunt, of which the title character is an original co-creation of Kirkman and McFarlane--but one that might feel rather familiar to longtime followers of the McFarlane's work.

The story of Haunt sees an amoral priest who is contacted by his apparently dead brother from beyond the grave, and is then gifted with supernatural powers and a cool-looking black-and-white liquid costume with glowing eyes. The inclusion of some slightly pretentious religious elements and a vague drive to protect the innocent widow that his brother left behind seem like a transparent attempt to give a flat character more depth.

Now where have I heard something like that before?

In fairness, it's a little too early to judge this series harshly. There are several similarities between the character concepts of Venom, Spawn, and Haunt. However, there are some differences, too. For one thing, it features two brothers, and the dynamic between them is enjoyable and reasonably well written.

Additionally, the mysterious nature of the genetic experiments uncovered by one of them--along with the added mystery of how the research relates to Haunt and his powers--help to give readers some food for thought. Yet, at this point, it's impossible to tell whether these fairly generic plots are going to really give Haunt something to offer that we haven't already seen with Venom and Spawn, or whether it's just another attempt to give a shallow book the illusion of greater depth.

It doesn't help that, from the first page, there's a sense that the book is setting out to shock above all else. We see a character leaving a hotel after an appointment with a prostitute! And he's a priest!

There's a tough soldier who disobeys orders and kills the man he's been sent to rescue because the man's actions offend his moral code (what a loose cannon)!

Later, an interrogator is ordered to give his victim a local anaesthetic and then cut off the man's penis . . . whilst the victim watches!

These kinds of clichés and "shocking" moments might make more of an impact on a younger, more impressionable reader. However, for me it felt like they were included for their own sake rather than because they served the story in any meaningful way.

The book's artwork is provided by an interesting mixture of talent.

Greg Capullo (Todd McFarlane's artistic successor on Spawn) provides layouts that are then penciled by Ryan Ottley and inked by McFarlane. Having seen Ottley's work in the pages of Invincible, I was expecting the same slick, bold finish that I'd seen there. However, whilst McFarlane's inks retain the distinctive, angular designs of Ottley's characters, his finishes add a little of his own artistic flavour to the mix too--with plenty of lines and hatching that result in a slightly less boldly defined look for the pages (albeit one that suits the tone of the book well, particularly during the darker scenes).

Talking of the character designs, it's impossible to avoid the similarities between the design of Haunt and McFarlane's character designs for Spider-Man. The chest logo and facemask might be slightly different, but the physiques of the two characters are very similar--and Haunt's poses even seem to have been chosen in order to deliberately evoke those of the wall-crawler (so much so that you could easily be forgiven for mistaking the cover of this issue for a recoloured Todd McFarlane Amazing Spider-Man cover from the late eighties).

However, you'd be unlikely to see the content of the book replicated in a Spider-Man comic. Gratuitous graphic violence is the order of the day for the book's action sequences, with every eruption of blood, explosion of gunfire, and bodily injury (including a particularly grisly double-decapitation) rendered in careful detail by the book's art team--if only as much attention to detail had been paid to the basic visual continuity.

I noticed at least one major visual continuity error as the two brothers swapped positions between our first glimpse of them in the confessional and a later follow-up scene. Regardless of who's responsible for the error, it's the kind of thing that an editor should have caught and had corrected.

I get the impression that this is a book that has been designed to appeal to young teenagers--or adults whose tastes haven't developed since they were young teenagers. There's very much a sense of style over substance, and of "cool" and "shocking" elements being included for their own sake rather than because they come together to form a coherent and compelling story.

Still, people have been criticising McFarlane for these weaknesses for years, and it hasn't prevented his comics from being very popular. With that in mind, I don't doubt that Haunt will do well--even though I'm unlikely to sample another issue.

[Willpower The Gunslinger Find all posts View Profile Close Willpower]

haha, I did think that the cover looked exactly like a Spider-man cover.

That reviewer is obviously biased, or he just drank some Haterade before writing; the review is fine until the end:

I get the impression that this is a book that has been designed to appeal to young teenagers--or adults whose tastes haven't developed since they were young teenagers. There's very much a sense of style over substance, and of "cool" and "shocking" elements being included for their own sake rather than because they come together to form a coherent and compelling story.

I take that as an insult, seeing as how it appeals to me.

But for the most part, I see where he's coming from. I've always noticed the similarities between Venom and Spawn, and now Haunt. The funny thing is, I was a huge fan of Venom and Spawn as a kid, without knowing they were somewhat connected through Mcfarlane. So when I found out they were, I thought it was cool.

See, writers, directors, artists, musicians; they usually have they're own "style".

When Tool comes out with a new album, the songs sound somewhat similar, which they should since that's Tool's style.

When Quinten Tarantino makes a movie, there are always similarities in style and dialoge to his previous films; because that's his style.

I could give examples all day, but I'm sure you get the point. I just feel that this is Mcfarlane's style. He's not copying anyone else, except maybe himself a bit, but that's okay by me. When I look at his work, I want to see his art and character style. I like it.

Call me an "adult whose tastes haven't developed since they were a young teenager", and I tell him to come say it to my face. I support people that I like. And I don't make a living on being rude, either.

/rant

[Bruce Castle Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Bruce Castle]

haha, I did think that the cover looked exactly like a Spider-man cover.

That reviewer is obviously biased, or he just drank some Haterade before writing; the review is fine until the end:


I take that as an insult, seeing as how it appeals to me.

But for the most part, I see where he's coming from. I've always noticed the similarities between Venom and Spawn, and now Haunt. The funny thing is, I was a huge fan of Venom and Spawn as a kid, without knowing they were somewhat connected through Mcfarlane. So when I found out they were, I thought it was cool.

See, writers, directors, artists, musicians; they usually have they're own "style".

When Tool comes out with a new album, the songs sound somewhat similar, which they should since that's Tool's style.

When Quinten Tarantino makes a movie, there are always similarities in style and dialoge to his previous films; because that's his style.

I could give examples all day, but I'm sure you get the point. I just feel that this is Mcfarlane's style. He's not copying anyone else, except maybe himself a bit, but that's okay by me. When I look at his work, I want to see his art and character style. I like it.

Call me an "adult whose tastes haven't developed since they were a young teenager", and I tell him to come say it to my face. I support people that I like. And I don't make a living on being rude, either.

/rant

There's a big difference between having a style and creating the same thing over and over again. Tarantino doesn't make Reservoir Dogs over and over, does he? Tool doesn't... make that one cool Tool song over and over, do they?

And don't worry about being a kid. You're... in your early 20's, right?

[Willpower The Gunslinger Find all posts View Profile Close Willpower]

There's a big difference between having a style and creating the same thing over and over again. Tarantino doesn't make Reservoir Dogs over and over, does he? Tool doesn't... make that one cool Tool song over and over, do they?

And don't worry about being a kid. You're... in your early 20's, right?

nah, bout to be "over the hill" as they say. Kinda wierd, I don't feel any different than I ever have, at least physically.
I've served in the army, I'm an air traffic controller at Seattle International airport. I'm accumulating some history, you could say.

But enough about me, good sir.

Sounds like you accept the reviewers opinion as fact. That's cool. We could bring up most current writers/artists and see how similar their work history is, but blah. IMO, it's not "the same thing over and over again", it's an artists' style. So we can agree to disagree and get on with it

[Bruce Castle Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Bruce Castle]

nah, bout to be "over the hill" as they say. Kinda wierd, I don't feel any different than I ever have, at least physically.
I've served in the army, I'm an air traffic controller at Seattle International airport. I'm accumulating some history, you could say.

But enough about me, good sir.

Sounds like you accept the reviewers opinion as fact. That's cool. We could bring up most current writers/artists and see how similar their work history is, but blah. IMO, it's not "the same thing over and over again", it's an artists' style. So we can agree to disagree and get on with it

I don't agree to that, and I didn't ask for your life story.

I saw your age after I posted. I could've edited, but that's not Bruce Castle's style.

By the way, you're going to feel like you're 20 for awhile, and you'll feel like you're in your 30's until your tits are saggy.

Age aint nothin' but a number, and people in their 70's perform oral sex. Yeah.

McFarlane still sucks.

[Willpower The Gunslinger Find all posts View Profile Close Willpower]

I don't agree to that, and I didn't ask for your life story.

I saw your age after I posted. I could've edited, but that's not Bruce Castle's style.

By the way, you're going to feel like you're 20 for awhile, and you'll feel like you're in your 30's until your tits are saggy.

Age aint nothin' but a number, and people in their 70's perform oral sex. Yeah.

McFarlane still sucks.

+1 for talking in 3rd person, can't get enough of it

Thanks for the life lessons, but I didn't ask for them

But seriously, I actually didn't know you disliked Mcfarlane. That explains a lot then.

[Bruce Castle Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Bruce Castle]

+1 for talking in 3rd person, can't get enough of it

Thanks for the life lessons, but I didn't ask for them

But seriously, I actually didn't know you disliked Mcfarlane. That explains a lot then.

When do people ever ask for life lessons?

I don't care about McFarlane enough to dislike him. He's a corporate waste of small talent.

Spawn is good. It paved the way for Indie comics and featured one of the first black heroes to get his own ongoing.

I doubt McFarlane sees that. He's blinded by the $$$

[stingerman Fatality's Blacksmith Find all posts View Profile Close stingerman]

I thought it was just so-so.

Didn't live up to the hype I suppose.

Also, the cover was classic Spider-man, cripes. That was a turn off for me.

Haunt is basically Spawn/Spider-man/Venom. Surprise, its McFarlane! [shakes head]

[myuserid Lantern Hex Find all posts View Profile Close myuserid]

As a first issue, I thought it did what it needed to do.

Sure Haunt looks like a Spidey-Venom-Spawn clone, but I can live with that.

This series won't exactly reinvent the wheel I'm sure, but it looks to be pretty entertaining.

[Bruce Castle Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Bruce Castle]

As a first issue, I thought it did what it needed to do.

Sure Haunt looks like a Spidey-Venom-Spawn clone, but I can live with that.

This series won't exactly reinvent the wheel I'm sure, but it looks to be pretty entertaining.

It's more than looks.

I'd already been a huge fan of McFarlane's work on Amazing Spider-Man, during which he co-created one of the most memorable villains that the character has ever fought: Venom. The character concept was fairly shallow, with an amoral journalist brought back from the brink of suicide by an alien symbiote that gifted him with superhuman powers and a cool-looking black-and-white liquid costume with bright-white eyes.

The inclusion of some slightly pretentious religious elements and a vague drive to protect "innocents" seemed like a transparent attempt to give a flat character more depth. Nevertheless, many readers (including me) liked Venom a lot, and the villain went on to become one of the most popular characters of the late 80s/early 90s--starring in countless Amazing Spider-Man stories as well as several of his own spin-off miniseries.

Shortly after leaving Marvel to form Image, McFarlane introduced the public to another of his most famous creations: Spawn. The character concept was fairly shallow, with an amoral black ops soldier brought back from the dead by a demonic entity that gifted him with supernatural powers and a cool-looking black-and-white liquid costume with glowing eyes.

The inclusion of some slightly pretentious religious elements and a vague drive to protect the innocence of the family that he left behind seemed like a transparent attempt to give a flat character more depth. Nevertheless, many readers (including me) liked him a lot, and Spawn went on to become one of the most popular characters of the early-to-mid 90s--starring in his own ongoing title as well as several spin-off miniseries.

The story of Haunt sees an amoral priest who is contacted by his apparently dead brother from beyond the grave, and is then gifted with supernatural powers and a cool-looking black-and-white liquid costume with glowing eyes. The inclusion of some slightly pretentious religious elements and a vague drive to protect the innocent widow that his brother left behind seem like a transparent attempt to give a flat character more depth.

[myuserid Lantern Hex Find all posts View Profile Close myuserid]

It's more than looks.

I say "looks" because we've only got issue one to go by so far. We don't really know anything about the character yet.

So yeah, looks.

Did you read the book, or just that review?

[Bruce Castle Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Bruce Castle]

I say "looks" because we've only got issue one to go by so far. We don't really know anything about the character yet.

So yeah, looks.

Did you read the book, or just that review?

I stand by my slurs.

The 90's influence is strong with Haunt.

Ooh, it's a priest with a hooker!

Ooh, that guy got eviscerated!

Ooh, doesn't the scratchy art look kewl!

I'm older than 13, thank you.