Review: All Guts no Glory #3 (of 3)

Never let it be said that I don’t recognise when publishers, who are known for one style, try and change it up to try something different. It is a brave company that moves from their core to deliver a different book. At this point, even DC are afraid to move away from being Bat-centric. So you have to give Zenescope some nods of recognition and kudos to move away from cheesecake horror and deliver a funny horror book for a change of pace.

Jimmy has his hands full. On one hand he has his “cleaning” buddy Clive, on the other hand he has the charming vampire Sara whom to save her soul. Throw in a couple of school bullies and an overly amorous head vampire Kurt Julius and you start to see the depth of young Jimmy’s problems. How can Jimmy juggle all these elements, win the girl and live his dream as a monster hunter if he can’t get out of his paper clip Halloween outfit?

From a story by the quartet of Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, Dave Franchini and David Wohl, it is Tedesco who gets the writing nod. This third issues looks to build on the humour quota with Kurt acting as the fulcrum on which all the events hang. The flamboyant character may well capture the eye as well as centre stage, but there is a darkness lurking behind the scenes, which Tedesco does well to hide in plain sight. Jimmy handles his troubles with a quiet desperation and with the strength of one straw too many, surprising perhaps himself as well as those around him. All in all, slapstick with some added guts give the book a jugular jocular vibe, which does threaten to drop into absurdity towards the end.

The art is supplied by Jordi Tarragona who does a serviceable job in places. There is a required amount of humour on display, be it the over top Kurt, the Halloween costume or any of the other blink and you miss them moments. The impact of this is that at times, I feel that the art suffers for the need of the joke. I would have liked to see more weight in the art; at times there is a flimsiness to it that behooves the cartoon style caricature; I understand the arts appearance and for this book it works. Colors are provided by Walter Pereyra who does well in keeping the tone of the colors bright, may be a bit brighter than you’d expect in an effort to bring the funny to the table rather than the horror. Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios is on hand to deliver his usual high standard of fonts and placements.

I have to say, that for a book that held zero expectations from me, I enjoyed the ride. With the hints and nods to possible extension of Jimmy’s corner of the Zenescope world, I would be quite happy to revisit and see how things are progressing for the cleaner-wanting-to-be-hunter and the rest of his little circle of influence

Writing- 3.5 Stars

Art – 3 Stars

Colors – 3.5 Stars

Overall – 3.5 Stars

Story by; Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, Dave Franchini & David Wohl
Written by; Ralph Tedesco
Art by; Jordi Tarrgona
Colors by; Walter Pereyra
Letters by; Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios
Published by; Zenescope Entertainment

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network