Darkchylde

Rating:
Summary: Never Fall in Love with Fire-Breathing 17 Year Old
Review: 'Darkchylde' became something of a comic craze in the 1990's, partially due to superb artwork and partly due to Randy Queen's (story and pencil) equally superb marketing skills. This trade paperback contains the work from the original five issue series. It tells the story of seventeen-year-old Ariel Chylde who, on a horrible traumatic night, discovers that she has the ability to change into creatures from some dark dimension of the mind and commit major mayhem.

When Ariel's father triggers her first change, she makes toast of both him and her home. Perry Stodghill is the boyfriend (well almost boyfriend), who witnesses some of this and tries to help her. Unfortunately, Ariel generated enough psychic energy to start a manhunt for her by Sentry, a local special ops branch which specializes in wierd. Perry's father is the man assigned to bring her in.

Lurking in the background is Kauldron, an exile from the dark dimension, who wants to use Ariel's powers to bring over a host of demons to, guess what, control the earth. Not all the demons fall under Kauldron's spell, and soon we have demons vs. demons, demons vs. Ariel, demons vs. humans, and every other variation of mayhem you can mention. Once the action builds up to frantic (around page four), there is never any let up, straight through to the end.

This isn't really a complex plot. There is more dialog than is usual for this kind of comic, and the characters have unnexpected depth. But it the artwork, and in particular, the subject of the artwork, that made this series take off. Ariel Chylde is an anatomical impossibility, the perfect embodiment of almost every man's dreams. And, when her clothes aren't painted on her, they are falling off her. Don't get me wrong, everything else in the comic is also great, but there is no question but that the real plot is Ariel's body and what happens to it.

No question but that this is exploitative, and if you are sensitive to this, you will find this book quite offensive. And, of course, this is not a publication for children. But Randy Queen's ability to fill a frame with strong composition and tense action are undeniable. Jason Gorder's ink work and Jimmy Yu's colors are equally professional. All this makes 'Darkchylde' the apex of the 'bad girl' comic genre. If you really love modern comic work, this is worth looking at.

Rating:
Summary: Never Fall in Love with Fire-Breathing 17 Year Old
Review: 'Darkchylde' became something of a comic craze in the 1990's, partially due to superb artwork and partly due to Randy Queen's (story and pencil) equally superb marketing skills. This trade paperback contains the work from the original five issue series. It tells the story of seventeen-year-old Ariel Chylde who, on a horrible traumatic night, discovers that she has the ability to change into creatures from some dark dimension of the mind and commit major mayhem.

When Ariel's father triggers her first change, she makes toast of both him and her home. Perry Stodghill is the boyfriend (well almost boyfriend), who witnesses some of this and tries to help her. Unfortunately, Ariel generated enough psychic energy to start a manhunt for her by Sentry, a local special ops branch which specializes in wierd. Perry's father is the man assigned to bring her in.

Lurking in the background is Kauldron, an exile from the dark dimension, who wants to use Ariel's powers to bring over a host of demons to, guess what, control the earth. Not all the demons fall under Kauldron's spell, and soon we have demons vs. demons, demons vs. Ariel, demons vs. humans, and every other variation of mayhem you can mention. Once the action builds up to frantic (around page four), there is never any let up, straight through to the end.

This isn't really a complex plot. There is more dialog than is usual for this kind of comic, and the characters have unnexpected depth. But it the artwork, and in particular, the subject of the artwork, that made this series take off. Ariel Chylde is an anatomical impossibility, the perfect embodiment of almost every man's dreams. And, when her clothes aren't painted on her, they are falling off her. Don't get me wrong, everything else in the comic is also great, but there is no question but that the real plot is Ariel's body and what happens to it.

No question but that this is exploitative, and if you are sensitive to this, you will find this book quite offensive. And, of course, this is not a publication for children. But Randy Queen's ability to fill a frame with strong composition and tense action are undeniable. Jason Gorder's ink work and Jimmy Yu's colors are equally professional. All this makes 'Darkchylde' the apex of the 'bad girl' comic genre. If you really love modern comic work, this is worth looking at.

Rating:
Summary: The "DARK"er the berry, the sweeter the story.
Review: DARKCHYLDE was purchased after being intrigued by her mini-series THE LEGACY. This graphic novel was the bomb, from the main character (Ariel Chylde) to her horrific powers. Add the attempted rape by her stepfather, the government's involvement, the run & hide sequences, and, what has to be the best part of the book, the demons War and Piece, and there is no wonder why the character of Darkchylde has been given a new lease on life with her new ongoing series. I hope that DREAMS OF THE DARKCHYLDE is as successful as this novel was. This is a character that needs more exposure outside of the swimsuit issues being printed for her.

Rating:
Summary: The "DARK"er the berry, the sweeter the story.
Review: DARKCHYLDE was purchased after being intrigued by her mini-series THE LEGACY. This graphic novel was the bomb, from the main character (Ariel Chylde) to her horrific powers. Add the attempted rape by her stepfather, the government's involvement, the run & hide sequences, and, what has to be the best part of the book, the demons War and Piece, and there is no wonder why the character of Darkchylde has been given a new lease on life with her new ongoing series. I hope that DREAMS OF THE DARKCHYLDE is as successful as this novel was. This is a character that needs more exposure outside of the swimsuit issues being printed for her.

Rating:
Summary: This is a really nice peice of work!
Review: This book has everything you'd want in a comic, action, humor, suspense, and the occational busty babe, if ya' know what I mean. Queen's artwork is terrific and really sets off the mood quite well. Not to mention the great dialogue. Gotta love Piece (read it and you'll understand). "Here's your security breach buddy!" It's great. Just quit reading this and get it. I'm serious. Go on. Leave. The review's over. I'm not kidding. This gag is gettin' very stupid, so I'll quit now.