Customer Reviews

Wormwood Volume 1 (v. 1)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse is the product of 30 Days of Night artist, Ben Templesmith, who not only provides the art, but wrote the story as well. This 152 page trade paperback collects the four issue mini-series along with the Wormwood: The Taster which served as a prelude to the mini-series. If I could pick just one word to describe Wormwood it would be...squishy...that tends to sum up both the look and feel of the book. Wormwood is a sentient worm that lives inside the eye-socket of a rather dapper English gentleman corpse. I've heard Wormwood described as actually being a maggot but no, he's definitely longer and, uh, squishier than a maggot.

Wormwood is never without his sidekick Mr. Pendulum, a mechanical construct with a bad attitude who looks like one of the members of ZZ Top. He's also frequently in the company of a lazy ghost detective named Trotsky, assistant Phoebe Phoenix, and former girlfriend Medusa who runs a local strip club and guards a gateway to hell. A pretty eclectic band of characters, no doubt about it!

Wormwood is like the John Constantine of the worm/maggot world. He's known to associate with various demons and deities, often over a multitude of beers. The opening prelude takes place in Medusa's club which suddenly becomes infected with demonic plants which have a nasty habit of bursting out of the customer's mouths. Wormwood and crew have to find the sporefather and destroy it before all of the customers become hothouses four more of the beasties. "Birds, Bees, Blood, and Beer" is a four-part story making up the bulk of the book. Someone is selling men what amounts to tainted viagra...improving their sexual performance, but also causing their seed to quickly germinate until a many-tentacled creature explodes out of their partner's belly. Yes...squishy is definitely the word for Wormwood.

By his own admission, Templesmith's art is love it or hate it. I have come around and you can count me in the "love it" category. His sketchy, abstract style is a perfect marriage to visual horror genre. Few artists today make use of color for style and setting a mood they way Templesmith does. Even the word balloons take on distinctive characteristics for the various characters. Templesmith weaves the horrific elements with dry humor for a masterful series. The book concludes with a spectacular cover and pin-up gallery featuring art by Templesmith, Grant Gould, Colton Worley, and Art Grafunkel.

Hot on the supernatural heels of Constantine and Hellboy comes another demon fighter/monster killer of ambiguous character named Wormwood. He's a welcome addition to the horror comic-book hero pantheon due to his unflappable personality and dark humor.

Like Hellboy, Wormword isn't, shall we say, quite human. He's a sentient wormlike creature who uses corpses for mobility and to blend in with humanity (magic helps a bit with his camouflage). As with Constantine, he's familiar with the nasty underbelly of reality and has a sense of noirish mirth that leavens his altruism. And there is also the typical assortment of oddball, gifted sidekicks to provide comic relief and take the brunt of punishment during combat.

In this collection, Wormwood and his partners take on some Cthulhu-like creatures that are threatening to devour humanity. Of course, this particular storyline has been done many times before. But Mr. Templesmith manages to (ahem) inject some interesting angles. For example, the author does a fine job tapping into our primal fears of sharing bodily fluids, STDs, and being consumed by one's lover or offspring. And as for the medium of transmission - well, I'll certainly never watch a male enhancement commercial the same way again.

Despite the intriguing characters, I was somewhat underwhelmed by the climactic battle between Wormwood & Co. and the main nasty. It was handled in a somewhat different way than these conflicts usually are, but the resolution seemed to invalidate the preceding mayhem. Clever at first reading, but it kind of lost its luster for me after further reflection.

The helter-skelter art suggests Bill Sienkiewicz's run on the New Mutants awhile back. Normally I prefer a more realistic approach - I liked Mr. Sienkiewicz better when he was a Neal Adams clone (a la "Moon Knight"). For reference, my favorite horror artists are "Swamp Thing" illustrators Stephen Bissette, Rick Veitch, and John Totleben. However, as with Hellboy's artist, Mr. Templesmith's pencils fit his undead character's surreal tone and icky atmosphere just fine. As a bonus, cover and sketchbook art are included as well.

Overall, "Wormwood" is an interesting take on the loner hero (Wormwood and his ilk are always set apart, even when surrounded by associates) who stands between us and the forces of chaos. If you enjoy Hellboy and Constantine, then "Wormwood" will slither easily into your collection.

The story elements (plot, characters, dialogue, etc.) are very solid, often brilliantly funny yet never quite `comical' to the point of being, in a sense, comfortable (which is a great thing, a hard thing to manage).

The art is absolutely on another level -- worth 50 more stars and then some. As cliche as it is to say, it really must be seen to be properly experienced or even remotely understood.

Wormwood very much feels like a kind of bastard child (stated in the most complimentary sense) between Neil Gaiman's Sandman series and Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis. I mean this in both aesthetic and literary senses. There seems to be a certain black, dry wit that these guys (Gaiman, Ellis, Templesmith) manage to pull off that is rare; it almost feels like a kind of grotesque (again, this is admirable), evolved version of what most people think of when thinking of `British humo(u)r'.

That all said, this is a gorgeous and absolutely visceral graphic novel. I'd never hope or think that the likes of Gaiman and Ellis are `done' in this genre, far from it, but if Templesmith represents something of a new generation, we're in good (decaying) hands.

I'm admittedly naive about how the graphic novel industry works, but these seems like a series just begging to get picked up by a major brand, specifically DC's Vertigo imprint.

To start- this series is very explicit and vulgar and geared toward an adult audience- not that that makes it good or bad, but it should reach the right audience.

The art style is a bit different from some of Templesmith's other work, but the treatment is very polished (even if the style is loose at times). I like Templesmith's work in this series, but that is really all a matter of personal preference. The story is quite odd, Wormwood is actually a parasite- you can see him in the corpse's eye- so he isnt so much a zombie as he is some alien worm that can control human corpses. The humor is also quite dry and a little obtuse as a lot of British humor is. The story can be a bit convoluted and outright bizarre, but really it adds to the charm of the books. For some the writing will probably be offensive, but it is very tongue-in-cheek - and seeing as how the premise is a bit off the wall the dialgue suits it.

I would suggest buying this volume- and if you like it- to buy out the rest of the series because the arc is spread across the volumes and this is pretty reflective of the rest of the series. The only real disappointment was when I was finished reading (all of the volumes) knowing that I wouldnt be seeing Wormwood in any other adventures- at least any time soon.

Two thumbs up. 4+ stars.

I seriously recommend this book, as well as the following two. The arte is amazing, there's nothing quite like it. I loved the story and the art, it takes you to another level of color

SEE OTHER THINGS I REVIEW AT: [...]
Pretty much this is a graphic novel about a fairly immortal maggot controlling a corpse (in a suit) to fight and or kill everything from demonic plant spawn to squid army all to preserve the booze and filth we enjoy here on Earth.

The storyline has good humor, gore and just all around good fun for really mature readers (around seventeen and up). Everything from the monsters to those who team up with Wormwood are just full of surprises (robot, demigoddess bar babes, Elvis etc.). The evil forces that threaten Earth are just as entertaining because their behaviors are just as random as Wormwood and his lot.

This series reminded me of a funnier version of the Hellblazer comics because both have an interesting world incorporating the occult and supernatural.

In comparing the artist's (Ben Templesmith) other works: Dead Space, 30 Days of Night and Silent Hill, I find this series stands out because of it's random humor. Welcome to Hoxford is more like this series than his other ones because it has the same kind of atmosphere drawn throughout the pages. All of Templesmith's work that I have seen revolves around the horror genre and none of it gets old. It was really interesting seeing his art adaptation of the videogames Silent Hill and Dead Space.

If you enjoy gore-horror-humorous art then this is the thing for you. I highly recommend you check out Templesmith's other works as well.

I was already a huge fan of Templesmith's art from Fell: Feral City and 30 Days of Night, so naturally I was interested in reading this series when I found out he wrote it. I just wasn't expecting it to be this good. There are very few authors in the field that can come up with such great stories AND great art.

Wormwood is not for the weak of heart. It is graphic and disturbing at times, but always in a fun way. It can be over-the-top. But you sort of have to expect that from a series whose main character is a worm that magically reanimates corpses as its mode of transportation.

Enjoy!

Upon first look this seems to be a very odd selection. But Ben Templesmith makes this world very unique. If you are a fan of great artwork and macabre humor then Wormwood is a great place to start. The only negative is that the story itself is short in nature. But what it lacks in length, Wormwood provides the reader with a fluid and hysterical entrance into the mind of Ben Templesmith. If you have not read anything by Templesmith this is a great place to start. After reading this volume check out Wormwood, Vol. 2: It Only Hurts When I Pee and Wormwood, Vol. 3: Calamari Rising.

This series is full of fun dark humor. The art works well with the story line. Overall a fun read.

Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse is one of those comics that adults will find endlessly amusing and that the younger folks will yearn to get their hands on, even if they don't understand all the humor. It's definitely one of those books that you were warned against as a kid, rife with absurd sexual humor, the darkest of dark horror/fantasy, and a hero that is a sentient worm stationed in the eye of a walking corpse, that he magically controls. If that wasn't enough, his teammates are a ghost (perhaps the most normal character), a robot who constantly complains about the fact that he has no "bits," and an ex-stripper with demonic tattoos that turn into her weapon when things get thick. Overall, it's an life times worth of dirty jokes, nasty beasties, and horror-noir shoved into a five issue comic series. And it's bliss.

The most amazing thing about the book is that it never feels like too much. Wormwood is certainly not for the timid, but it's also got a heart of gold tucked under layers of rotten flesh and slimy tentacles. The characters are both funny and endearing, but more in a "I could read about this guy forever" than an "aw, how sweet" way. While I'd put this in the paranormal detective genre, perhaps between The Dresden Files and some Christopher Moore novels, writer/artist Ben Templesmith definitely emphasizes humor over horror. For example, take a look at how Wormy solves the case by... ah, well. You'll see.

Ben Templesmith blew me away here, both with the writing and the art. I was a bit put off by his art when I first came across his work in 30 Days of Night, but after a few months of looking at the stuff he and editor Chris Ryall posted on line, I began to really fall in love with his technique. The textures, the stylized pencils, and the overall look of it is just utterly unique. His style definitely suits the wild world of Wormwood, and his writing proves to be just as wonderfully strange as his art. The first volume of Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse is the full package!

8/10