Dark Horse Presents #1

I've always liked anthology titles, and certainly Dark Horse Comics pulled out all the stops to make the newly-revived Dark Horse Presents into something special.

They did this by including some of the industry's top talent. Among the stories herein:

- Concrete returns in a short story by writer and artist Paul Chadwick - and it's an excellent addition to the character who first appeared in the original version of this comic.

- Xerxes is the follow-up to 300 by writer / artist Frank Miller - and while we only get a short preview here, the issue also includes an interview with him.

- Speaking of print features, Harlan Ellison provides a short story - how awesome is that?

- Neal Adams provides a disturbing tale called Blood - it defies description.

- And you'll also find stories and/or art by Howard Chaykin, Richard Corben, Paul Gulacy, Michael T. Gilbert, Paul Gulacy and Geof Darrow.

All of that, piled into an oversize publication, which includes 80 pages for $7.99.

So is it worth the steep price? That's a definite "yes" from me. Certainly some stories are better than others, of course, but overall it's an amazing collection of talent, stories and art - and many of the features will continue into future issues.

I like the short form version of comics, and it's an art form that's almost lost to the industry, so it's great to see Dark Horse getting back to its roots and bringing new life to the genre.

Highly recommended!

Grade: A

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