House Of Night #5
Story by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Script by Kent Dalian
Art by Joelle Jones and Eric Canete
Colors by Ryan Hill and Eric Canete
Letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Cover by Jenny Frison
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: March 14, 2012
Cover Price: $2.99

This month we get to see Zoey Redbird complete her initiation into the five elements in House Of Night #5. Her lesson for the last element, spirit, is one that holds a lot of meaning for her. Not everyone is able to survive the change from human to vampyre, and it takes four years of training to do so. We learn that the stress on their bodies and minds can take a toll.

Zoey spends this issue coming to terms with a choice she made prior to her training at the House of Night. Having imprinted on someone from her past, it seems only fitting that the story of Hippolyte and Herakles contained the same problem. Learning from the mistakes of vampyres past has aided Zoey several times and this is no exception.

House Of Night #4
Story by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Script by Kent Dalian
Art by Joelle Jones and Jonathan Case
Colors by Ryan Hill and Jonathan Case
Letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Cover by Jenny Frison
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: February 8, 2012
Cover Price: $2.99

We return to the story of Zoey Redbird, a fledgling vampyre attending the Tulsa House of Night and learning to control her newfound powers. House Of Night #4 addresses the issues of overconfidence and vanity. When Zoey accidentally destroys something sacred to her goddess, she decides to concentrate on repairing the damage done and learning from the experience.

House of Night #3
Story by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Script by Kent Dalian
Art by Joelle Jones and Daniel Krall
Colors by Ryan Hill and Daniel Krall
Letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Cover by Jenny Frison
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: January 11, 2012
Cover Price: $2.99

Whereas most teenagers are obsessed with dating, school, and parties, Zoey Redbird has other things that occupy her life. Of course, since she is a magic-wielding vampire that pretty much explains it all. in House of Night #3 we get a bit more background regarding both who Zoey is and who she was before being marked by the goddess Nyx. For the record, the events in this series take place between scenes in the second novel, Betrayed, from the House of Night book series.

Orchid #2
Written by Tom Morello
Art by Scott Hepburn
Colors by Dan Jackson
Letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Cover by Massimo Carnevale
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 9, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

Orchid #2 appears to reiterate a bit of the information that we learned in the first issue, but goes a bit deeper into the background of why things are the way they are. Writer Tom Morello obviously has a grander vision than I first imagined. I find myself interested in the history of this future Earth. Hopefully more on that front as the series progresses.

We find Orchid in the slave pits this issue, still resigned to her fate. With her younger brother in tow, she tries to avoid Simon as he rants like a madman. Simon, though, has other plans. Plotting an escape, he manages to arrange their sale to a wealthy buyer. Once started, they cannot turn back no matter how dangerous things get. A surprise twist at the end involving the Mask of General China sets up the next issue quite nicely.

The Occultist #1
Story by Mike Richardson, Tim Seeley
Script by Tim Seeley
Art by Victor Drujiniu
Colors by Andrew Dalhouse
Letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Designer: Justin Couch
Created by Mike Richardson
Covers by Steve Morris, Jenny Frison
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 9th, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

The Occultist is one of those comics that has something for everyone. Horror, magic, mystery, and most importantly, hot girls. Everybody wins! I hadn’t read the previous Occultist one-shot, but I was very impressed with this issue.

What I liked most about this The Occultist #1 is writer Tim Seeley’s ability to catch the audience up on what has happened previously with the character without talking down to them or wasting pages recapping last year’s one-shot. This book is all over the place and it’s a really fun read. We get not only plenty of time with the main character and his story, we also get a good amount of time with the villains and supporting cast and find out their motivations.