Review: The Ice Cream Man TPB: Rainbow Sprinkles

Every evening, right now, we hear that jingle of the ice cream truck as it rolls through the neighborhood. It is one of the sure signs of summer, like lightning bugs (or do you call them fireflies?). It is something so innocent and pure. It would be a real shame if someone messed that up for you now.

Well, W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo have decided to do just that. After working on the Electric Sublime together for IDW, the two have paired up again on The Ice Cream Man. Image has bound the first four books together in a trade before continuing the individual issues.

The issues read like a loose anthology of horror and suspense stories, more like a comic book version of Tales from the Crypt or The Twilight Zone. The stories are really only linked to one another by the Ice Cream Man, who by turns is a nice man selling ice cream or, when he lets his mask slip, the creator of nightmares. Like those shows, the amount of horror varies by story. The first and last are pure horror, but the middle two are more tales of suspense and for me, slightly less successful.

When Prince is on target, The Ice Cream Man is creepier than Freddie Kruegar, but when he lets the reins slip, The Ice Cream man becomes less disquieting and disturbing. But even those moments don“t last long and the middle stories remain engaging.

In addition, to the Ice Cream Man, Detective 5V (I“ll let the story explain the name) is the only character who makes an appearance in multiple stories. I hope as the series progresses, she starts to take a more center role in the issues.

Morazzo“s art maintains that feeling throughout the books. Even in the scenes that take place in bright sunshine there is something queasy about the quiet and peaceful landscapes. And when he rips the bandaid off, you will be checking that there aren“t any bugs on you for a while.

The last book in the trade, not only sets up the origins of the Ice Cream Man, but also introduces an adversary who may be even worse than the Ice Cream Man and hints at a tighter story in the second arc. I“m intrigued by that, but I“m sceptical that this story really needs a more direct story. I like the idea of the two fighting through proxies.

This book is an excellent place to jump on the the Ice Cream bandwagon. And I can“t think of something more enjoyable in the bright summer daylight, than reading these tales as well as any that follow. I hope Prince and Morazzo can keep up the quality work.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Colors: Chris O“Halloran
Publisher: Image

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Andy Hall

Sent from the future by our Robot Ape overlords to preserve the timeline. Reading and writing about comics until the revolution comes. All hail the Orangutan Android Solar King!