Alice Cooper is a rock n’ roll GOD. There’s no debating this; he invented shock rock and was a pioneer in stage show production. This week, Joe Harris and Eman Casallos bring this icon into the world of comics with a solid debut issue.
Written by Joe Harris
Illustrated by Eman CasallosThe X-Files’ Joe Harris takes on The Prince of Darkness – Alice Cooper in his FIRST ongoing comic series! Rock n’ roll legend Alice Cooper was never a stranger to the mystic and the macabre. His stage shows were the stuff of legend, featuring snakes and pyrotechnics and the invocation of dark themes and darker forces. But while he was a legend in the waking world, few knew his role as “The Lord of Nightmares” beyond it, where he watched over us while we dreamed, and delivered horrors unto the deserving. Only someone took it all away from him, cast him out of his realm and locked him away… until now. And if he’s going to reclaim his dark throne, he’s going to need all the help he can get!
Alice Cooper is the grandfather and King of shock rock. Cooper created some of the best rock n’ roll music and innovated live stage performances. He incorporated vaudevillian techniques into his show creating a horror banquet; nlood, live chickens (that one time), guillotines and elaborate set pieces were hallmarks of his shows. He took things from people strumming on guitars with laser lights to full on spectacles that are echoed in most live acts today. He’s been brought to the comic medium before (a very good fit), but what Joe Harris and Eman Casallos do is something brand new for this star.
“Alice Cooper” #1 begins by showing us Alice Cooper in the Nightmare Place. He’s disheveled and not at all the person we know. We then cut to seeing Cooper’s life now: he’s working for a devilish music promoter/manager named Lucius (see what they did there) who uses Cooper to recruit new acts. Cooper is stuck in this deal because he …ahem… signed a deal he can’t get out of. He’s not the superstar he used to be, and therefore is not really Alice Cooper anymore. Elsewhere, a young boy named Robbie is learning about Cooper’s music for the first time thanks to a mysterious figure giving him a record.
“Alice Cooper” is a take on the stage persona that fits him perfectly. Instead of going the route of a biography or dramatization of actual events, Harris has taken the stage persona and given it a comic book twist. This book is very heavy on the supernatural and I think that’s going to be its selling point. As an Alice Cooper fan, it’s the kind of story that I always dreamed he would be a part of. It’s like his stage stuff kicked up a notch and is actually happening in a world that’s as close to real as possible.
The downside to this, though, is that in this debut issue the story is a little too close to “The Sandman” by Neil Gaiman. The influence is there but there’s something a little too Morpheus about Alice Cooper. They have similar powers and similar demeanors; both begin their respective series down in the dumps about their lives and a little pouty until they realize who they are and that people should fear them. The idea of the Nightmare Land is clearly influenced by “The Sandman,” though it is done in a way that feels really original. The personification of things like dreams and nightmares can be explored in multiple different ways, and while I love the influence, I wasn’t crazy about how similar both characters are. More of an Alice Cooper touch to the Alice Cooper character is needed.
This will most likely change as the series goes on because of the inclusion of the Robbie character. Robbie serves a couple of excellent purposes in this debut issue. Harris uses Robbie as the eyes for the audience. To sell this book, you’ll have to grab non-Alice Cooper fans in. The way Harris and Casallos do this is by having Robbie discover Cooper’s music for the first time; what he learns, we’ll learn as readers. The music will play a part of this story but it’s really the characters that will carry it. Despite my own misgivings about the early characterization of Alice, it’s still a purely character driven plot, which is a huge plus in my book.
Continued belowCasallos does a very solid job on art duty. Like any other prolific musician, many artists have put in their two cents with all kinds of versions of him, but Casallos makes this book totally his own. Right from the beginning you get a great tease of the Nightmare Land. The highlight here however is the design of Alice Cooper; the top hat, the chain, the look on his face. It’s all so perfect. Throughout the entire issue the look of Alice Cooper is very strong, picture perfect, and Casallos doesn’t take a ton of liberties with how he looks. What he does is make Alice Cooper his own through costume and facial expressions. He’s not just saying he’s miserable — he looks it and you feel it.
Lucius also has a pretty solid design because he’s not what you’d expect visually. He behaves the way you’d expect but he’s short, kind of fat and a little gross. It’s typical for a smarmy music producer but not for someone that may or may not be Lucifer himself. There’s a great mix of darkness and debauchery in entire issue. In a comic centering around one of the most visual performers of all time, it’s important that the art come up to the task and it does.
“Alice Cooper” #1 is all set up and has some issues with characterization, but it also has the potential to be a really cool supernatural story. Joe Harris and Eman Csallos seem up to the task and from what we got here, there’s little reason to pass on the second issue.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – a solid debut. Pass this and you’ll risk getting a visit by the Nightmare Lord.
