Joint Review – Reanimator #1 (Dynamite)

April 7, 2015

3–4 minutes

Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Story: Keith Davidsen
Art: Randy Valiente
Release Date: 8th April, 2015

Hazel Says…

I remember fondly those heady teenage days watching B-movies and so kind of knew what I’d be getting with a comic called Reanimator. But what new things have they brought to a familiar tale?

Hector West is the mad scientist Reanimator who has brought himself back from the dead a couple of times. In the present day, he rescues Susie, a bored selling medical supplies on the black market, from a deal gone bad. Two of her buyers have turned on her as she is about to shut up shop. Hector kills them then appropriates their bodies while persuading Susie to come work for him. He’s a busy multi-tasker. With his Franken-Butler, Valusian, they form an unlikely partnership. Hector explains how he isolates a gene from the dead bodies which aids him in the reanimation. Some of this he makes into a drug called Eunique which he sells on. Better than all other drugs, a Cthulhu type drug baron takes over all the drug corners passing on Eunique. However, he pays little heed to the warning that you shouldn’t dip into your own product.

So far so good, but the story about Susie and her fiance is the main pull here. She discovers that Hector may have been watching her for a while and his turning up at her deal-gone-bad wasn’t a coincidence.

The artwork is good. If it sounds like I am damning with faint praise, I guess I kind of am. There’s nothing necessarily spectacular here – it’s good, solid and serves the story well. Where is does shine briefly is in Hector’s diabolical lab with rotting corpses and cold, clinical precision.

Rating: 3/5.

David Says…

Cards on the table… I normally avoid the horror genre at all costs, but I have always had a bit of an interest in Lovecraftian lore. Its influence seeps into so many things, it is almost like the Great Old Ones themselves are trying to get your attention.

Unfortunately for The Reanimator, much of that mystery and ethereal creepiness is lost here. The story feels like it is going to try and twist this classic Lovecraftian character to fit the classic anti-hero trope. Normally this would be acceptable, but it really does feel forced here and clearly won’t be a natural progression.

The art style matches the genre really well and brings back some of the lost creepiness. The colouring is one of the best parts of the book, but I personally feel that some panels may actually benefit from being in black and white. One such panel would be when Herbert West is introduced and says the line “and now you’ve became acquainted with death, as well”

The story very clearly sets up the fact that this occurs after the previous Lovecraft Herbert West stories with references to his past adventures, including curing himself of madness, his hatred of the demons from the Necronomicon, and the inclusion of a Valusian as Herbert’s man servant.

I’m guessing that the story arc will see Herbert having to deal with the drug dealers introduced in this issue before having to stop the Elder God Cthulhu. I can also see Valusian turning out to be someone important to Susan, a skilled chemist who Herbert takes on as an assistant, given the ending of the first issue. Honestly, it all just feels a little uninspired and, dare I say, predictable.

I really hope I am wrong about this book because it clearly has a lot of potential to be a good story due to the rich lore.

Rating: 2/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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