The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[Stephen Day]

I loved this issue.

The the writing is strong and the artwork matches the tone the writing creates perfectly. I loved the scene with the Elephant Man in particular. Billy the Kid is a jerk, but its fun to watch him act in ways and say things that are so outrageous. He's as much of a freak as the allies he works with.

8 out of 10

[Royal Nonesuch]

First off, I didn't actually read the earlier series. Somehow, I didn't even know about it until recently, when I read a Fourthy review or something.

Anyway, I jumped into this one, and though I felt like I missed something (ie the establishment of this world), I was able to catch up, and would now like to go back and read the first series.

This story uses the Whitechapel murders as its jumping point, and also incorporates the speculative notion that Jack the Ripper was actually Joseph Merrick, aka The Elephant Man of London (who, unlike the Joseph Merrick of this story, didn't actually resemble an elephant. He referred to himself by that moniker because he thought this deformity was caused by a nightmare his mother had while she was pregnant with him, wherein she was trampled by elephants). If you look around long enough on the internet, you'll find some subgroup of theorists who subscribe to the idea.

This first issue is a really fun comic. The Billy the Kid character is a riot, and everyone else is fleshed out pretty quickly for those who missed out on their introduction in the first series (I'm assuming). The dialogue and pacing really crackle, and the always reliable Kyle Hotz does some stellar work here.

This is a great issue all around.

10.0 (we're staring this off big-style!).

[Victorian Squid]

Nice little freebie, the 18 page Billy the Kid story that appeared in the back of the recent 3 issue Buzzard miniseries:

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles ... y_Oddities

[Starlord]

Thread is pretty dead.

Looks like... I was right.

That's it, I'm gone!

[Victorian Squid]

The real scoop is here though:

[Reveal] Spoiler: Click to Expand

[Eli Katz]

That's it, I'm gone!

[thefourthman]

The real scoop is here though:

[Reveal] Spoiler: Click to Expand

[Starlord]

I can never resist that song.

[Eli Katz]

I can never resist that song.

Or flirtations from Jimbo.

[Starlord]

Or flirtations from Jimbo.

that goes without saying.

[thefourthman]

Whitechapel is and always will be an area of fascination for the world. To this day Sleuths from around the world want to establish a name for themselves by figuring out one of the great mysteries. Who or what was Jack the Ripper. Some combination of the ultimate cold case, the brutalities of murders, and the romance of the Victorian era, especially with the Spring Heel Jack to add to the mythos, has made it rest on our minds over a century later.

It has consumed the likes of Alan Moore and the Hughes brothers and now, Eric Powell, that comedian of the grotesque takes it on. What better way than through a tale of Billy The Kid and his band of Old Timey Oddities.
Spoule mentioned a friend in England at the end of the last volume, turns out that friend was the Elephantman (taken to an absurdist extreme by Hotz). This allows the reader the chance to see Mr. The Kid’s crudeness in all its glory (well until he starts alley crawling later). Seems he hasn’t changed much. He still talks faster than he can think and doesn’t ever reflect on the words he speaks. You almost have to wonder why Spoule puts up with him.
Seems there is a network of the oddities in the world and Spoule’s friend has called our heroes in because the local freaks are being systematically hunt down as suspects for being the Ripper.

Never mind the Spring Heel or the fact that America’s first serial killer is in town, things get bad when Billy gets slipped something and witnesses a murder!

Powell continues the adventures of this group as if he wrote the last issue of the first volume yesterday. Everything feels the same and if anything, the nifty mileau has upped the greatness of his writing.

Hotz doesn’t slouch either. Brown’s colors are more nuanced than Powell’s were in the first series. It gives the art a pop and actually creates a more eerie feel. The star of the art is the eyes though. The art team creates real emotion and depth through the eyes. They are almost real in their look, shimmering in the light, water welling in them. It is an effect that stands out in a field of exceptional artwork.

A return to form, eerie and funny, god it’s good to have the bandit and his friends back in town!

Knowing that costing one penny shy of four hundred is a lot to ask, Powell throws in a Goon strip. In the first part of the story we see our mob boss and his buddy grilling out and taking it easy, that is until a slack jaw eats all their wieners and the Goon reluctantly steps into action. I hope that after this mini is done it means more of one of my favorite books!

score 10/10

[thefourthman]

I loved this issue.

The the writing is strong and the artwork matches the tone the writing creates perfectly. I loved the scene with the Elephant Man in particular. Billy the Kid is a jerk, but its fun to watch him act in ways and say things that are so outrageous. He's as much of a freak as the allies he works with.

8 out of 10

Yup, he is.

[thefourthman]

First off, I didn't actually read the earlier series. Somehow, I didn't even know about it until recently, when I read a Fourthy review or something.

Anyway, I jumped into this one, and though I felt like I missed something (ie the establishment of this world), I was able to catch up, and would now like to go back and read the first series.

This story uses the Whitechapel murders as its jumping point, and also incorporates the speculative notion that Jack the Ripper was actually Joseph Merrick, aka The Elephant Man of London (who, unlike the Joseph Merrick of this story, didn't actually resemble an elephant. He referred to himself by that moniker because he thought this deformity was caused by a nightmare his mother had while she was pregnant with him, wherein she was trampled by elephants). If you look around long enough on the internet, you'll find some subgroup of theorists who subscribe to the idea.

This first issue is a really fun comic. The Billy the Kid character is a riot, and everyone else is fleshed out pretty quickly for those who missed out on their introduction in the first series (I'm assuming). The dialogue and pacing really crackle, and the always reliable Kyle Hotz does some stellar work here.

This is a great issue all around.

10.0 (we're staring this off big-style!).

Yes, there are solid introductions and even origins in the first series. I love the use and altering of real characters in the book. Holmes is real too and the subject of Devil in the City. He was America's first modern serial killer. He confessed to 27 murders and is suspected to have committed many more in the hotel that he built for the Chicago World Fair. I don't know that he was ever in England, but he is my suspect for the ripper (assuming that it's not the Springheel)

[Victorian Squid]

Great issue, best BtK issue yet.

[Stephen Day]

Yup, he is.

I just love the "I can't believe he just said that" moments. Those are what make this series for me.