THE LIVING CORPSE: RELICS #2 – Review

In THE LIVING CORPSE: RELICS #2, available from American Mythology on August 25th, 2021, John Romero aka The Living Corpse is called to seek out a mysterious threat assembling dangerous artifacts from across the globe.

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The Details

• Written By: Ken Haeser
• Art By: Ken Haeser, Buz Hasson
• Colors By: Blair Smith
• Letters By: Ken Haeser
• Cover Art By: Ken Haeser
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: August 25, 2021

Was It Good?

Monsters with a modern sensibility battling ancient, supernatural evil. What’s not to like?

This week we’ve expanded our partnership with American Mythology to review more titles beyond comics in the ERB Universe, and it’s turned out to be a real treat. American Mythology has got access to a lot of great properties, old and new.

But this review isn’t about gushing over a publisher, so let’s get to it.

I like this comic. Let’s get that out of the way right up front. We’re new to The Living Corpse title, so this is not only the first read of this issue but of the title as a whole. That newness factors in because you’ve got at least six different characters of importance in this issue, and I was able to pick up what was going on and the roles of each character without too much confusion.

When you can pick up a comic cold and in the “middle” of a story arc, yet still follow along without too much trouble, that’s a strong testament to effective, clear writing.

The plot (details in the next section) sets up small moments between characters that practically brim with foreshadowing for bigger things to come. That’s the key element that makes this writing work. No scene is wasted or filler. Every scene either adds a nugget of backstory to the characters, or hints at things to come, while still giving you something interesting to witness in the present moment.

Again, this is excellent writing.

Haeser and Hasson’s art is oddly amusing. The character designs have a slight caricature feel to them. They’re not rendered as ultra-detailed or hyper-grotesque. You get a collection of monsters from zombies to mummies to vampires to demons to fallen angels, and each creature is not only unique in its design as a species but unique between individuals in the same species. The art team does a great job of making every character stand out on their own.

I like this comic. I like where the story is going. The fact that I could figure out what’s going on without tons of exposition means the story is clear and accessible. And the art is visually entertaining and interesting.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

We begin with a frozen windmill(?) in Gnome, Alaska where its sole resident receives a phone call summoning him to an assignment.

Cut to an Egyptian museum where a corpse-like figure wrapped in mummified bandages breaks in to steal an ancient artifact. When the figure is surprised by a guard, it summons the nearby corpses to rise and kill the guard while it makes its escape.

We then find John Romero aka The Living Corpse in a deep meditative state as he communes with the spirits of the dead. Suddenly, the face of the same hooded figure appears in the ether, calling John to him. John breaks free of his trance and visits his current mentor, the half-demon Brother Naga, to inform him he’s leaving the Tibetan refuge to find this hooded figure.

As the story proceeds, we pick up various threads that conclude with:

Brother Naga’s sorrowful conversation with the fallen angel Asteroth.

A young vampire’s call to become Queen of the Nosferatu and bear its loathsome duty.

And a fateful confrontation between the hooded figure and John at the Vatican.

Final Thoughts

THE LIVING CORPSE: RELICS #2 puts the main character on a globe-hopping mission to stop another living corpse from collecting ancient artifacts for some evil purpose. While the story is a collection of small moments, the scope of the plot feels global. The art stands out for making each character unique and memorable.

Score: 9/10