THE MILKMAN MURDERS #1 REVIEW

[Mitch Brown]

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dh/0704/Milkman_Murders1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dh/0704/Milkman_Murders1t.jpg" align=left alt=”The Milkman Murders #!”></a>Reviewer: Mitch Brown, mitchbrown@comixfan.cjb.net
Story Title: Chapter 1 “Meet The Family”
Quick Rating: Great!

Joe Casey and Steve Parkhouse take us on a demented ride into suburban horror.

Story: Joe Casey
Art: Stephen Parkhouse
Assistant Editor: Matt Dryer
Editor: Scott Allie
Designer: Darin Fabrick
Publisher: Mike Richardson

I’ve always found the idyllic suburban lifestyle presented on so many old American TV shows to be far more disturbing than any of the goings-on in even the most brutal horror films. There’s something “not-quite-right” about the sheltered world of white picket fences and Sunday dinner ideal of the stereotypical suburban family unit. I mean, if life’s so perfect out in the ‘burbs, what’s with all the domestic violence, school shootings and drug abuse then? Something just doesn’t seem right. Behind all the grins and pot roasts, there just has to be something these suburbanites are hiding. Nothing is that perfect.

Enter The Milkman Murders – the latest addition to Dark Horse’s growing horror line. Our hosts for this nasty little serial killer story, set against the even-more frightening backdrop of the everyday hell of the working class family, are former Uncanny X-Men and WildCATS scribe Joe Casey and Sinister Dexter’s Stephen Parkhouse. With The Milkman Murders, this duo have delivered something far more disturbing than any Rob Zombie or Steve Niles tale.

Alas, poor Barb. Married to the abusive Vincent and trapped in homemaker hell by her ungrateful and obnoxious children, slutty Ruthie and cat-murdering Fletcher, Barb’s life is a picture of the “other side” of the happy family unit. Emotionally tortured, physically abused, Barb spends her thankless days and nights trying to keep her family together, spending day after day sadly watching warmhearted family sitcoms to escape the reality of her broken life. But Barb’s tragic and monotonous existence is about to take an unexpected turn. The Milkman cometh… (I couldn’t resist)

From the outset, it’s easy to tell this book is not going to be for everyone. We are greeted on the cover by a filthy-looking, sinister milkman, flanked by images of domestic violence and a trashy-looking schoolgirl being groped by her gym teacher. We’re also informed that this “Modern Suburban Nightmare” is “Unfit for Parents”. Well, it’s a good thing Dark Horse are looking out for those impressionable ‘rents, let me tell you, cause there’s some pretty depraved stuff going down in The Milkman Murders #1.

Much like Mark Millar’s The Unfunnies or the film Pleasantville, Casey holds up a cracked looking glass to the less-than-pleasant reality of family life in the ‘Burbs. Joe’s wicked satire is made all the more potent by the fact that the characters and events in this comic are not that far removed from the daily reality of Jerry Springer or even the Six O’Clock News. This is a viciously disturbing comic book, mirroring an often viciously disturbed real life.

The ideas presented here aren’t anything new, of course, but what’s particularly special about The Milkman Murders is how just how perfectly Casey and Parkhouse are able to bring this world to life.

Casey brings his stingingly funny, profoundly disturbing wit to bear across the pages of The Milkman Murders. There is some great dialogue to be found here, that convincingly draws us into Barb’s tortured world. Rather than just put on a show for the reader, Casey’s script draws the reader into this family’s sickness. Vincent’s is so appalling that at several points in reading this issue, I wished I could march right into one of Parkhouse’s panels and punch the bastard myself. The same holds true for the cruel and perverted Fletcher and the selfish and obnoxious Ruthie. For every barbed comment, cruel remark and stinging blow to Barb’s psyche I found myself wincing in sympathy for this poor, broken woman. As horrible as it is, Casey manages to engage the reader’s emotions, not just their more objective faculties.

Steve Parkhouse is, without doubt, the perfect artist for The Milkman Murders. This is some incredibly vile and ugly looking artwork, and I mean that as a compliment. From his chaotic panel layouts to the distorted and exaggerated features of the grotesque lead characters, Parkhouse puts us in a visual space that has more in common with a train wreck than a “normal” comic book. Judging by the book’s credits, it would appear Parkhouse not only inks but also colors his own work, injecting the book with some sickeningly muted pastels that work to accentuate the already gruesome characters all the more.

Like I said earlier, a book like The Milkman Murders is not for everyone. The black humor and unforgiving social satire to be found here is not easily digestable at all, and those looking for pure entertainment would do better to avoid this. But if you’ve ever wondered just why it is that watching sixties sitcoms causes a cold shiver down your spine, or ever peered over the fence wondering with a fearful curiosity just what the family next door gets up to, then this book is for you.

ART:
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STORY:
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OVERALL:
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Buy issues of The Milk Man Murders online now at X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1352&cat=DARK+HORSE+ITEMS+DUE+JULY+2004)

[Joel Phillips]

I found this somewhat lacking, actually. I will say that the satire is pointed and the art suits the story very well. But at the end of the issue I was left unsatisfied, and not in a way that made me want the next issue. I'll read #2, to see what happens, but unless I get a little more I can't see myself following this to its conclusion.

[Mitch Brown]

Its hard to tell at this point which direction this series is going to go. I didn't really have any preconceptions or expectations going in beyond the "milkman slasher" concept so the satirical angle actually took me by surprise. (Maybe I should've taken more notice of Casey's interviews...) The "humor" here is right up my alley too..I've been loving The Unfunnies, and I'm a fan of films like Meet The Feebles.

[Al Harahap]

I think you're both equally valid -- not that you wouldn't be otherwise -- just that especially with Joe Casey books (Automatic Kafka, Uncanny X-Men, Wildcats), opinions and reviews seem to polarise to both extremes more so than any other writers' work.

[Mitch Brown]

Originally posted by Al Harahap
I think you're both equally valid -- not that you wouldn't be otherwise -- just that especially with Joe Casey books (Automatic Kafka, Uncanny X-Men, Wildcats), opinions and reviews seem to polarise to both extremes more so than any other writers' work.

I wasn't questioning any validity of opinion and I don't think Joel was either :)

You're right though, Joe Casey does tend to receive very mixed, often polarised reactions. The only other writer that I can think of that seems to have the same kind of effect is Grant Morrison. Funny then that they both started on X-Men at the same time..

I don't think that's a bad thing at all though, it shows a real strength in their writing (whether you enjoy it or not) that they are able to generate discussion beyond "that was cool" or "that sucks"..its what we're all here for, right? :)

[thewrite1]

The artwork is excellent and really suits the style of the story without losing its 'real-life' feel. The cover attracted me first, and Casey's name drew me in.
The writing was well done, but if there was any satire there I think I missed it. Or perhaps it is hard to feel humourous when one is physically repulsed by the events of the story. I do hope no children will ever get to read it.
Saying that though, I may just pick up the next issue. I'm curious.

[Ann Nichols]

I'm going to be 50 in October. I was a child/teen in the '60s. Class of '72. Yes, my father physically, emotionally, and sexually abused me. On the other hand, I was allowed to walk to the drugstore and back to buy my comics (about 2-3 miles round trip) by myself when I was only 12. I was probably six or seven when my parents trusted me to take my little brother trick or treating on our street.

Again, I was only about 12 when my parents would think nothing of leaving me and my younger siblings at a movie theater or let us walk to the library with our friends with no adult. We weren't supposed to let strangers into the house or get into cars with them, but it was all right to respectfully answer a stranger's questions.

I still remember my jr high civics teacher burning a pinch of marijuana on his desk so we would be able to recognize the smell.

My worries in jr high and high school were the bullies who beat people up. I wasn't worried about guns.

Domestic abuse aside, the 'burbs were safer back in the '60s.