Review: The Lost Boys #2
By Andy Frisk
November 14, 2016 - 23:43
DC Comics
Writer(s): Tim Seeley
Penciller(s): Scott Godlewski
Colourist(s): Trish Mulvhill
Letterer(s): Clem Robbins
DC Comics Vertigo line has had some success over the years adapting or expanding upon film properties. Recently they produced some pretty good tie in comics to the recent Mad Max Fury Road film. Now, the imprint is hoping to capitalize on one of the most popular cult vampire films of the past 30 years. The Lost Boys though, under the direction of Tim Seeley, is oft to a pretty slow start and is way more morose than I remember the original film being.
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Yeah, it was dark and violent, but maybe I just remember the Frog Brothers as being funnier. Maybe it's just that the characters don't translate well from the screen to the page. Either way, The Lost Boys from Vertigo Comics needs to find it's voice and pace quickly or it risks turning into Hack/Slash lite, and that's not a good thing as at leasat Hack/Slash was at least a little original when it debuted.
It would seem that Seeley, creator of Hack/Slash would be the perfect writer for a high profile comic book adaptation of a popular vamp flick. Both are brimming with unique characters and supernatural horror. The problems with The Lost Boys are not his alone though. Some characters are meant to be single serve and really don't have a shelf life beyond the films they originally appeared in. Sometimes they do. The Lost Boys wasn't originally a film that lent it self to a high quality sequel.
Seeley does introduce some new characters though that might pan out. The strange sax playing character dubbed "The Believer" is mildly interesting, but I'm afraid he'll turn out to be a comedic relief. I mean, that outfit...but The Lost Boys definitely needs some new life breathed into it and "The Believer" might be it. I just hope he doesn't end up being a knock off of one of Seeley's Hack/Slash side characters.
Series artist Scott Godlewski does the best he can with the story at hand. He gets the general look of the actors that played the original characters in the original film right, even Keifer Sutherland's David. Of course the characters don't look exactly like the actors, but the general look is solid. There's very little action and no gore this issue, so there's little by the way of action to examine his fight choreography. Perhaps the best part of the the book's art and look is the atmospheric color work of Trish Mulvhill. It really brings out the horror in the few scenes where Godlweski gets to indulge in dreaming up some with his inks and pencils.
I'm not on board with this series yet. Each issue I've read thus far has wanted me to go back and watch the original film, not look forward to the next issue.
Rating: 5/10
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