30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (23): BASKETFUL OF HEADS #6

Released on March 25th, 2020

     I think, honestly, this is a first. I've read every book Joe Hill has written. Have I ever read every book an author has written? Maybe if it's someone like J.D. Salinger who's only written one novel or maybe an author that's new and only has written one or two books. But Joe Hill has a bunch of books. I've read 20th Century Ghosts, Heart Shaped Box, Horns, NOS4A2, The Fireman, and Full Throttle. But, honestly, the best thing he ever wrote was Locke & Key, which is a comic book. And so when he finally came back to not only write some new comics but start his own horror line at DC, I was pretty excited. Sadly, his horror line is a mixed bag and mostly disappointing. He's only writing two of the books in his line and this one, Basketful of Heads, is the superior one. Just by reading the title you can kind of guess that it's ridiculous and comedic and not exactly hardcore horror. The premise is that there's a storm on an island and the inhabitants are all stuck in their homes. A busload of prisoners have escaped and are on the loose looking for a tape that an undercover FBI agent made. A girl, June, is stuck in the middle of all of this. The catch is that she uses a mythical, viking ax to chop off the head of one of the prisoners attacking her and he miraculously stays alive...albeit he's just a head now. Cut to issue 6 and June's got a, yep, basketful of talking heads. The series is definitely all action, which is good. It's not overtly comedic, but in this issue there is a funny line when one of severed heads says to another severed head, "Shut him up, for God's sake. Lifestyles of the Rich and Headless over there is making me crazy." The art, by Leomacs (yeah, it's either a code name, nickname, or stage name...who the fuck knows), is great; it's nostalgic and feels like 70's style Grindhouse chic. The climax is also good. June finally finds her boyfriend, who's also the undercover FBI agent, but she gets attacked, tied up, and thrown into the ocean tied to an anchor. While this book isn't particularly great or anything, it is fun, entertaining, and bizarre. And when you have a climax in a comic book that makes you eager to read the next issue, that's always a good thing. **1/2