Evil Ernie #4
Written by Jesse Snider
Art by Jason Craig
Colors by Maxflan Araujo
Letters by Troy Peteri
Covers by Ardian Syaf, Dan Brereton, Kyle Hotz, Stephen Segovia
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 13, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Evil Ernie is shaping up to be more than just a splatterhouse comic. Oh, don’t worry, there’s plenty of delicious limb cleaving and ball eating. Yes, ball eating. This series is sick. But, Evil Ernie is displaying much more character development and meticulous plotting than you’d ever expect from the comic subgenre of gratuitous violence.

In the last issue, Ernie ran into Uriel the archangel who told him that his true destiny was to lead Heaven’s war against Hell. Uriel was right in the middle of trying to save Ernie’s soul when Smiley revealed himself as a demonic, facehugging parasite and stabbed him in the head. Evil Ernie #4 was all teed up for a huge showdown between Smiley and Ernie. However, after a little sitdown, Ernie shelves his moral crises and instead focuses on his missing arm and surviving the chaos unleashed at the Widmark maximum security prison.

Evil Ernie #2
Written by Jesse Snider
Art by Jason Craig
Covers by Ardian Syaf, Dan Brereton, Kyle Hotz, Stephen Segovia
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: November 14, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Evil Ernie‘s origin story continues with issue #2, and what a friggin’ bloodbath! The goopy, fleshy parts of helpless sinners just drip off the page. Ernie goes on a rampage hunting down his father within a prison, and anyone who gets in Ernie’s way is subject to his wrath of violence. Well, anyone who’s a sinner; a prison complex is an all-you-can-maim buffet of sinners for Ernie to feast upon. Unfortunately, Ernie’s father is a slippery sonofabitch who may avoid meeting his maker.

Smiley plays a much more prominent role in this issue as Ernie’s cohort. While rampaging through the horde of sinners who attempt to take Ernie down, Smiley lets him in on a useful tidbit: all of Ernie’s violent awesomeness isn’t free–like a battery, he can run out of juice. Hmmm, I wonder what this giant hint is foreshadowing? Ernie is a living(?) hypocrite of an anti-hero. However, he revels in his hypocrisy and gleefully tells his victims that he’ll meet them in Hell. He’s one of them.

Evil Ernie #1
Written by Jesse Blaze Snider
Art by Jason Craig
Colors by Marcio Menyz & Adriano Augusto
Letters by Troy Peteri
Covers by Tim Seeley, Adrian Syaf, Nick Bradshaw, Dan Brereton
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: October 10, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

In 2010, Dynamite Entertainment acquired the rights to Evil Ernie from Chaos! Comics. That acquisition finally bears fruit as writer Jesse Blaze Snider, a long-time fan of Evil Ernie, takes the helm on this character reboot. Dynamite could not, however, nab the rights to Lady Death, who held a significant role in Evil Ernie‘s original storyline. Her absence from Evil Ernie #1‘s story alters Evil Ernie’s origin and motivations, but the look, personality, and Smiley button of the undead psychopath remain.

Evil Ernie #1 briefly covers Ernest Fairchild’s traumatic childhood which directly leads into his demonic transformation. Ernest was born in 1993 during a bizarre car accident where his entire family was killed. His father, possessed by something, taunts his daughter and pregnant wife right before slamming the car into a light pole.

Battle Beasts #1
Written by Bobby Gurnow
Art by Valerio Schiti
Colors by Claudia SGC
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Dan Brereton, Ulises Farinas, and Valerio Schiti & Claudia SGC
IDW Publishing
Release Date: July 11, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

A comic book based on a toy line from the 1980s. Hmm. Who would’ve ever thought. Well, in Battle Beasts #1, IDW goes above and beyond to make a really good COMIC, not just another licensed book. They got some great talent, who put together a really cool story based on these little toys.

Writer Bobby Gurnow tells a great story about an alien race of…well..beast in a story LOADED with all sorts of fantastic axes, swords, shields, maces, and other weapons. A long anticipated “call” that they’ve been waiting for takes them to Earth, where all Hell breaks loose. Hey, YOU try going about your daily business with a giant grizzly bear in golden armor breathing down your neck! As much as I kid, this is a GREAT, fun, action-packed comic book. What could be just another “alien invasion” story turns out to be something a little bit smarter than 95% of them that I’ve read before, and it’s much better choreographed than any movie of this type that I’ve seen. It’s certainly worth your time of you have even the slightest interest in the sci-fi genre.

The deal of the day over at Things From Another World today is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 1 trade paperback edition for only $16.24 (that’s 35% off the list price of $24.99).

Note – This deal is valid only for today, Tuesday, October 18, 2011, til 11:59PM PST while supplies last.

This 320-page full-color omnibus from Dark Horse Comics is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series created by Joss Whedon and is from the creative team of Whedon, Fabian Nicieza, Christopher Golden, Dan Brereton, Scott Lobdell, Paul Lee, Eric Powell, Joe Bennett, Cliff Richards, Hector Gomez, and Will Conrad.

Visit the TFAW’s Deal of the Day page to view the hours left in the sale as well as quantities remaining of the item.