Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Various
Artist: Various
Editor: Mike Richardson
Release Date: 20 January 2016
Price: $4.99

Three words that are guaranteed to make me pick up a comicbook like Dark Horse Presents #18. Alien. Jungle. Girl. All three are writ large on the cover of this Harvey Award winner for best anthology 2015.

Brought to you by writer Rich Woodall and artist Craig Rousseau, Kyrra, the aforementioned Alien Jungle Girl is your standard female Tarzan in space seeking her heritage as she tries to find out where she came from and how the heck did she end up here. It’s Kyrra’s birthday but the party goes out of control when giant slugs called Gworms attack. That’s pretty much all you need to know because, like all good anthologies, less is more and there’s lot to cram in to this extra long 56 page issue but at the same price!

If you’re not a regular reader of Dark Horse Presents, it’s a bit like coming in half way through a movie. Pretty much everything here is part way through with precious few ‘Previously on . . .’ to help you catch up. We get super heroics, dating rituals, crime and what might be creepy Government agencies, there was too little information to tell but it sure looked pretty. The artwork varies from glossy magazine style to humorous cartoon type strips via gritty urban landscapes. In other words, just what you’d expect from a Harvey Award-winning anthology.

If you can stick with Dark Horse Presents episodic chronology long enough to figure everything out you may well find some gems here. The Suit by Dennis Calero is classy, Carla Speed McNeil and David Chelsea both give us a few chuckles, Shawn Aldridge and Julius Gopez provide a different slant on the cape and tights fraternity, Barbara Randall Kesel and Marc Olivent serve up something creepy and industry veteran Paul Levitz with artist Tim Hamilton delve into the seedy side of crime. If none of that floats your boat there is always that Alien. Jungle. Girl!

Reviewer: Gary Orchard
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker