by Richard Corben (with John Arcudi)I found this in an inexpensive back issue bin on a recent trip to Cambridge Ontario. I've long had an interest in Corben's work. I'm not sure if I'm a fan, but he's an artist I've always found intriguing. When I was younger, it was the sheer eroticism of his work that first caught my eye, but as I've aged, it's the uniqueness of his style.
The stories here cover familiar Corben ground. There are mystical tombs, barbarians, buxom warrior women, and betrayals. Perhaps the most interesting story is his re-imagining of the Masque of the Red Death, this time set in an ancient African nation.
His Spectre tale, written by Arcudi, shows why Corben is not all that suited to large-scale cosmic stories. He's best working on his own tales, where he can set the pace and the level of gore and weirdness.
This comic is perhaps most remarkable by the lengths Corben had to go to avoid portraying nudity, something that was never an issue in his Heavy Metal days.
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