Scary Godmother

Following closely on the release of Evan Dorkin's and Jill Thompson's Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites, Dark Horse Comics released more Jill Thompson work in the same deluxe hardcover format. The original Scary Godmother comics were published by the now-defunct Sirius Publishing, and hence have been out of print for a long time. Thankfully, this omission has been rectified by the good folk of Dark Horse Comics. This 192-page hardcover collection reprints Scary Godmother, The Revenge of Jimmy, The Mystery Date and The Boo Flu from the original comics, with concept art gallery and a new cover by Jill Thompson.

I regret to say that I had never read Scary Godmother until getting my hands on this beautiful volume which was released in October 2010, just in time for the Halloween season. Unfortunately, it appeared that no copies made it to Singapore and I had to rely on my local comic shop to re-order this for me.

While many creators were pushing out gory and frightful horror for Halloween, Jill Thompson goes the opposite route with her all-ages delightfully quirky characters and stories. Coupled with her masterfully painted artwork, Scary Godmother is a joy to flip through for both adults and children. Highly recommended... though fellow countrymen here in Singapore may have to obtain their copies from overseas or speak to the friendly folk at the local comic shop.


Front cover


Rear cover (with lots of fellow comics professionals and professional wrestlers singing the book's praises)

Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites

Earlier this year, Dark Horse Comics published a hardcover collection you wouldn't want to miss - Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson's Beasts of Burden which collect the first story from the pages of "The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings", other early stories as well as the hit four-issue comic series "Beasts of Burden".

Set in the average neighbourhood of Burden Hill (hence the title), filled with green lawns and white picket fences, a team of dogs and one cat are paranormal investigators determined to keep their community safe from witches, zombie dogs and even demonic cannibal frogs.

What endears me to the characters, beyond the fact that they are cute furry creatures, is the fact that at the end of it all, they are still pets who sniff each other's behind and rush back before their owners get home. Evan Dorkin's script is filled with equal parts mystery, adventure, horror and humour while Jill Thompson's beautiful paintings never fail to allow the animals to emote.

This comic captures the heart and haunts your dreams...highly recommended!