REVIEW: Screamland

Imagine all the classic movie monsters (The Wolfman, Invisible Man, the Blob, etc.) living in Hollywood and actually starring in those classic monster movies. Now imagine these same monsters still living in Hollywood in the age of CG and green screens. Bummer. Their heydays are over and they are all trying to make ends meet. From bussing tables at restaurants to working as amusement park attractions to even, of course, the convention circuit, they are just trying to make it.

The story begins with the character named Devil Fish (basically he is the Creature from the Black Lagoon) having a party at his house in the valley. He dives into a swimming pool mixed with heavy amounts of cocaine and then OD’s. It then cuts to Fantasyscapecon!

Day 1 – The monsters of Screamland are gearing up for the convention when the Invisible Man decides to make a big announcement at his booth. It turns out years ago all the monsters had a crazy drug fuelled sex orgy and Devil Fish filmed the whole thing; he called it Phantasmagorgya. Devil Fish locked it away as an ‘insurance policy’ if it turned out he needed it down the road. The Invisible Man states he got his hands on the film and plans on screening it opening night of the Con – 10 PM sharp! Carl, the Wolfman, is none too happy about this. He enlists the rest of the monsters to go to Invisible Man’s booth and confront him. Some do not seem to care and others are a bit worried, but they all decide to have a talk with the Invisible Man anyways.

When they arrive at his booth for the confrontation, they discover that the Invisible Man has been murdered. The police are called, but they think it is a prank. This is when Carl and Travis, a Scotty type character from a Star Trek like show, decide they are going to play detective to figure out who committed the dastardly crime.

I have to say, I really liked Screamland, written by Harold Sipe and Christopher Sebela and drawn by Lee Leslie. Each issue of the comic has a backup story focusing on one particular character, which brings a lot more to the story itself. I am excited to see where the 3rd issue of this new ongoing series, hitting the shelves soon, is going to reveal next. Whodunit? Who knows? Surely, it will not be the two inept monsters trying to solve the crime, right? For those people who love Sci-Fi, Classic movie monsters; those who try to watch The Blob while trying to have a three-way; and/or individuals who just enjoy a lot of other plain craziness, this book is for you.