My Rating
“The Hexx Files”
Mac’s body slammed into a nearby mausoleum with the force of an oncoming bus. His vision exploded into a million green stars. Whatever the hell had stepped through the portal inside Saint Roch Cemetery, it was definitely not meant for this world. Especially not New Orleans.
The gumshoe slowly climbed back to his feet as necro-energies began to swarm through his battered body. Hexx was no stranger to death, but it still hurt, dammit! He had come to the cemetery to stop a hungry ghoul from lunching on corpses, not battle some Elder God from who knows where.
At least Mac wasn’t alone in this bizarre fight. Another man was nearby, and judging by what the detective had just witnessed, the stranger possessed abilities strangely similar to his own. Was he somehow able to control Death Matter as well? Detective McGavin Hexx would soon find out.
Why are cultists so drawn to Saint Roch Cemetery in New Orleans? What is the story behind McGavin Hexx? And who is the mysterious Indian guru named Anupam Chakrabarti?
“A Stranger In Transylvania”
The game is afoot! Deep within the darkened mountains of Transylvania, Dracula has called upon Earth’s mightiest hero to compete in his deadly game. But who has received an invitation to this quadranscentennial event? Atomic Man? Mac Hexx? Doctor Frankenstein? Nope. The Living Corpse, of course!
The rules are simple: survive. Standing between the Living Corpse and the lord of vampires is a seemingly endless gauntlet of undead monsters, each eager to tear him limb from limb in the name of their master. Unfortunately for Dracula’s minions, killing a guy who is already dead might prove a little more difficult than expected.
Why has Dracula summoned the Living Corpse to Transylvania? What awaits our undead hero at the end of this monstrous gauntlet? And does Dracula really believe his army of walking corpses can stop the Living Corpse?
Stay tuned for news at 11!
Review
Where has The Living Corpse been all my life? I absolutely loved this one-shot! Going into The Hexx Files, I knew very little about the character or his surprisingly long publication history. After finishing the issue, I immediately wanted to know more.
Created by Ken Haeser and Buz Hasson, The Living Corpse has certainly made the rounds over the years. The character began his comic-book adventures with Zenescope Entertainment back in 2007 before eventually shambling over to Dynamite Entertainment. More than a decade later, American Mythology Productions picked up the undead hero and gave him another chance to crawl out of the grave. Apparently, I’ve been missing out on a lot of supernatural fun.
And this is exactly the type of character I can sink my teeth into! The Hexx Files throws everything I enjoy about horror comics into one gruesome blender: zombies, ghouls, cemeteries, occult magic, Elder Gods, vampires, portals, and plenty of supernatural mayhem. There is a wonderful old-school monster-comic feeling running throughout the issue, but it never takes itself too seriously. The Living Corpse is surrounded by death, yet the creators still find plenty of room for humor.
Surprisingly
Surprisingly, however, the Living Corpse wasn’t my favorite part of his own comic book. That honor belongs to Gavin Mac Hexx. Created by veteran comic-book writer David Michelinie, Hexx is a former paranormal investigator turned supernatural occultist, and I was hooked almost immediately. The trench-coat-wearing gumshoe, his connection to Death Matter, and the mystery surrounding his past make him exactly the type of supernatural character I enjoy. I definitely want to see more of this guy!
The second story, “A Stranger in Transylvania,” is the icing on this rotting cake. Dracula, an undead gauntlet, and the Living Corpse fighting his way through a game of death? Sign me up! It gives the issue another dose of classic monster fun and reinforces just how enormous this supernatural world could become.
The Living Corpse: The Hexx Files didn’t simply introduce me to another horror character—it sent me looking for the back issues. That’s probably the best compliment I can give a comic book. There is a whole mythology here that I knew absolutely nothing about, and now I want to dig it up.
I give The Living Corpse: The Hexx Files a rock-solid five out of five stars!
