BY BIZARRE HANDS #2 REVIEW

[Joel Phillips]

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/avatar/0604/bbh2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/avatar/0604/bbh2t.jpg" align=left alt="By Bizarre Hands #2"></a><a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/avatar/0604/bbh2w.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/avatar/0604/bbh2wt.jpg" align=left alt="By Bizarre Hands #2"></a>Reviewer: Joel Phillips
Quick Rating: Great!
Story Title: Not from Detroit

Death drives a stick!

Story: Joe R. Lansdale
Adaptation and Artwork: Armando Rossi
Script: Neal Barrett Jr.
Covers: Jacen Burrows
Cover Color: Greg Waller from Nimbus Studios
Editor-in-Chief: William Christensen
Creative Director: Mark Seifert
Published By: Avatar Press

Intended for Mature Readers

I found the debut issue of the horror anthology, By Bizarre Hands, to be a disappointingly plain story, but I liked Lansdale’s flair enough to give him another shot with another story. That story, Not from Detroit, is a significantly better entry than the story for which the series was named.

This issue is about an elderly couple, who begin by sitting around discussing how neither wants to live longer than the other. Eventually the woman (Margie) tells her husband (Alex) a story she heard about her grandmother seeing Death when he came for her father. By the end of the story, of course, Death has made an appearance in a manner similar to that described by Margie, and all the characters are left to react.

I don’t want to spoil the story, but I will say that this story succeeds in the place where the first issue failed: it keeps its secrets. There were several points in the story where I was genuinely surprised by the actions of one character or the other. At one point, towards the end, I was certain I had the ending figured out, but unlike with issue #1 I was wrong, and pleasantly surprised because of it.

Despite the content I have described thus far, this isn’t really a horror story. It’s not scary or even particularly dark, and the ending is a happy one when you really think about it. Though this may not be a horror story, it’s still a good story. The dialogue is believable, as are the characters, and the characterization of Death manages to embrace certain traditional ideas of the character, reject others, and create a fairly interesting version of Death because of it.

The art is very well suited to the story. I like the way Death looks, and the action scenes are dark and chaotic without being confusing. Some of the facial close-ups look a little on the unfinished side, though.

Didn’t I tell you that anthologies always have the potential to get better? There are four more stories to go, which means four more chances to hit or miss for Lansdale and his stories.

ART:
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STORY:
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OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/avafull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/avafull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/avafull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/avafull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/avanone.jpg

[Anand Khatri]

Sounds good. Might check it out.

[Merlin]

oh this issue was better than the first and I also thought I knew how it was going to end

I thought that when death came back, he came back to get Alex b/c it was planed that they would die hours apart so that they would not live long without each other and b/c of Alex's actions, Maggie would then live without Alex

Joel how did you think it would end???

[Joel Phillips]

Originally posted by Merlin
Joel how did you think it would end???

Exactly the same way you did.

[dheeraj verma]

Originally posted by Anand Khatri
Sounds good. Might check it out.

Hello Anand,

This is Dheeraj Verma artist of first book By Bizzare hands and I am very happy to see that you are a reader of this book. I would like to thanks all of you to appreciate my work. I also thanks to Joel Phillips to write such words about me.

I want to live in our readers heart with my work. this one was first issue and lots more will come, you must like those issues for sure.

Specially for Anand you can mail me at my mail address.

[dheeraj verma]

This is great experience to read about yourself at this forum. I am happy.