Review

Steve Niles is one busy man.  He has many creator-owned projects going on and is always working to bring some of his creations back.  Well he is at it again; Steve Niles is bringing back the Mystery Society with Mystery Society Special 2013.  If you haven’t heard of Mystery Society it was created by Steve Niles, Fiona Staples and Ashley Wood back in May of 2010.  It was this book that proved to me what a talented artist Fiona Staples was and we all know where her career is at now with Saga.  Mystery Society is a sci-fi adventure with horror elements.  What else do you expect from Steve Niles?  Mystery Society follows a team of occult adventure seekers, Nick and Anastasia Mystery; this couple is in love and ready to find out all of the unexplained things out there in this scary, scary world.  One of my favorite parts about these characters is that they hit the lottery and decided to become this occult/supernatural adventurers and investigators.  But they aren’t alone; they team up with the Secret Skull, Verne, who is a robot with Jules Verne’s brain and a pair of talented young girls.  Unfortunately this series got canceled after 5 issues.  I thought it had great potential but IDW saw otherwise.

To the review (spoilers ahead):

Now that this unique group is back in Mystery Society Special 2013 by IDW publishing, we get to see our strange and odd team back together hunting some of the most classic horror-esque characters we have seen.  This isn’t your everyday hunting, they are actually attempting to trade Edgar Allen Poe’s skull for these monsters.  But they must do this trade with a mysterious man named Mr. Hunley in his underwater base.  What a great place for these monsters.  The monsters consist of Frankenstein, Golem of Prague and one mysterious guest.  Who could that be??? Don’t worry I won’t spoil that for you.

This time around on Mystery Society Special we get Andrew Ritchie on the Art.  His art style is more rough tones than Fiona Staples but it works for this story.  The artwork and color almost feel like a throw back in a way to me.  The color tones really give this life a bit more depth than I expected.  I was glad to see how it made the book feel since I always thought Mystery Society deserved another shot.  So I am glad to see Andrew Ritchie really doing some fine work with these characters.

Mystery Society Special 2013 interior page

Steve Niles really brings this book to another level.  We are used to seeing his horror books with many crazy things happening around the corners (or pages, I should say).  But here in Mystery Society, as in the original mini-series, we can really feel the love and joy of these characters.  Even though this group is made up of a robot, an undead woman, two humans and two powerful little girls, there is a sense of family with them.  This odd bunch is ready to take on any challenge and loves finding out the truth.

One of my more favorite parts of the book is the reveal of this 3rd monster locked away in this underwater base along with the very last panel.  It just proves this book can be a fun and adventure filled comic.  These odd adventurers aren’t afraid of what goes “bump in the night”, they want to find it and let it be seen.

Mystery Society Special 2013 is out March 20, 2013 from IDW Publishing.  So go out to your local comic book store and pick this book up.  Trust me, if you like sci-fi and horror mixed with some fun adventure than this book is for you.  Now I’m off to win the lottery so I can become Tony Mystery!!!



About the Author

Tony Calandra
Writer, creator, avid movie fan, and zombie killer of the week. Born in Texas, now resides in Baltimore, MD. I have been a fan of comic books from the first time I could read. I am a big fan of any well written comic book or movie. Plus I will ramble on about comics, movies and beer.
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