Our (almost back to) weekly review of Dark Horse Presents volume 20. TWENTY! It’s a big issue. No really Dark Horse made issue 20 huge! They were celebrating (and rightly so) that a black and white indie anthology comic book made it to issue twenty, because it is a big deal! And what better way to celebrate than with a big comic book?

Published in August of 1988 this giant comic book contained 64 pages of mostly awesomeness, some ok-ness, and a few wtf-ness. With anthologies you tend to get a mixture of everything from excellent to what were they thinking. Ok on to what this volume contained! I’ll post the title and my thoughts. For the creators’ names please look at the photo immediately below!

Mr Monster: Cheesy!!! Oh dear lord this was cheesy. Maybe they were poking fun at how silly comic books used to be? Maybe. But still this was cheese. 

Anomoly: Amazing!!! Not just because I love Gary Davis’ work, ok maybe a little because of that, but I love his work because it tends to be first rate! I loved this little SciFi tale of suspense and quiet horror that is accompanied by amazing artwork. A good example of what comic books can achieve. 

A Mother’s Tragedy: Slightly strange and off-kilter like most of Rick Geary’s work. Still quite enjoyable! You’re left reading between the lines a little, and there is a lot written in there. 

Trekker: This continues to be a solid story. SciFi bounty hunter meets old school private eye. Although this is a continuation of an outside story you are still entertained. 

The Mystery Men: Many comic books try to confront the what if super heroes were real question. I agree that lawsuits would abound. 

The Visit: A well illustrated tale that would truly speak to the hearts of those that have faced similar family situations. This shows that a comic book story can be much more than just that. 

Masque: I look forward to the end of this nightmare. The only positive I really have for Masque is that some of the inking is really nice. 

Concrete: This comic book will always peek into the heart of human nature and reveal a truth. 

Bob The Alien: These stories are always fun and I enjoy how they look like they were scribbled with a pen. 

Mindwalk: I’m not upset to see this story return! If they continue it I would be interested to see where it goes. 

Wacky Squirrel: Cheap laugh. 

Black Cross: One of the flagship stories of Dark Horse Presents. Dark, gritty, dangerous, and somehow still touching. 

There you have it! The giant twentieth issue of Dark Horse Presents! We’re getting closer to the volumes that captured my heart and made me a Dark Horse fan!