Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities
Vol. 3: The Orm of Loch Ness
Trade Paperback
Written by Eric Powell and Kyle Hotz
Illustrated by Kyle Hotz
Colored by Dan Brown
Lettered by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Cover by Kyle Hotz and Dan Brown
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: July 3, 2013
Cover Price: $15.99

The twisted minds of Eric Powell (The Goon) and Kyle Hotz (Evil Ernie) have crafted a new tale of adventure starring their gruff and salty western hero in Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities and the Orm of Loch Ness, the third volume in this brain-bending series from Dark Horse Comics.

Without even cracking the cover, and whether or not you’re familiar with the earlier books in the series, the title alone implies that you’re in for a wild (and strange) ride alongside one eccentric cowboy. Let go of any hold you have on reality right there at page one and let Powell and Hotz sweep you into their bizarre alternate history in which Billy the Kid works as a hired gun to protect a traveling freak show. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed that you did.

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.