Tales from the Darkside <trade paperback>

By Joe Hill, Michael Benedetto, and Gabriel Rodriguez

IDW Publishing

51 Pages

Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality - but… there is, unseen by most, an underworld, a place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit: a Darkside.

Master horror writer Joe Hill <who now has a series of comics published monthly> had a re-imagining of the classic TV show from the 1980’s: Tales from the Darkside. Unfortunately, that endeavor failed to bear fruit. Fortunately for comics fans, many of those stories have been translated to the page in comic format by Michael Benedetto! And better yet, he’s teamed up with Locke & Key artist and creator Gabriel Rodriguez.

Invoking the feeling of the popular show of the same name.

As far as horror comics go, this collection, featuring three stories, does not disappoint. Although each story falls within a 15-page average, the stories are well fleshed out and the characters are 3-dimensional. The tales range from horrific cosmic karma to monsters and evil characters from beyond. It's very twisted, almost like the original Twilight Zone.

The most notable story is “Black Box”, which follows a man who, twenty years before during a kids’ monopoly game, was pushed by a bully to the ground and found himself face-to-face with a demonic child who offered to make him a winner. Flash-forward to the present, and the Brian Newman has seizures that precede strange, supernatural events that affect the people who wrong him. He believes it is the work of the evil being, who is now also an adult. Brian decides to undergo an experimental operation that promises to help cure him from his seizures and any supernatural side effects, but he finds that this may have been a huge mistake - one that he may never be able to escape.

“Black Box” alone makes this collection worthy of the average price on eBay <$14, shipping included>, but three stories alone are not enough to justify a cover price of $21.99 plus tax. For this reason alone, I give this collection a 3.5 out of 5 stars. If you can find it for $15, I highly recommend you get it.