MONSTERVISION FEATURING JOE BOB BRIGGS AND DARCY #1 / Script by DAVID AVALLONE / Art by EDU MENNA / Covers by DAVE ACOSTA, KEWBER BAAL & ROBERT HACK / Published by DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
When it was announced that the glory that is Monstervision was being adapted for comics, I was one of the first to tell Kickstarter to shut up and take my money. It won’t come as a shock to my regular readers that I’m a fan of B-movies. However, it might surprise them that I count Joe Bob Briggs as one of my writing idols.
I grew up reading Joe Bob Briggs’ movie reviews in the Dallas Times Herald and realized years later his subtle influence on my own writing. (This may be the first time the word “subtle” has been used in connection with Joe Bob Briggs.) While I haven’t emulated his conversational prose style precisely, I have developed a similar casual ease with which I discuss what some would consider the low literature of comics. So when I was allowed to read the first issue ahead of its release, I was in hog heaven. Or some kind of beastly afterlife.
Our story opens in a small production studio in Texas. It is here that famous movie critic Joe Bob Briggs and his loyal (for a given value of loyal) mail girl Darcy are informed they are to go on tour to promote the Monstervision show. Joe Bob is reluctant, until he finds out he’s been gifted a replica of the 1971 Triple-Black 440-6 barrel 1971 Plymouth Cuda from Phantasm for tooling around in.
Unfortunately, times are tough at the first stop on the tour. Joe Bob and Darcy find the local drive-in under siege by mindless sub-humans. Foul creatures who live on the suffering of others and drain the lifeblood from all around them.
Also, in addition to the protestors, there’s a vampire with a grudge against Joe Bob on the loose.
The story by David Avallone does a fine job of capturing the unique voices of both Joe Bob and Darcy. This is not surprising, given his previous excellent work on various comics starring Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, included the long-awaited team-up between Elvira and Harley Quinn. Beyond emulating our second favorite dynamic duo from Monstervision, the story itself is a tribute to classic horror, packed with more references than your average Joel-era episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. With nods to both Jim Wynorski and Andrei Tarkovsky, you know Avallone is a fellow Mutant determined to do things right.
The art by regular Edu Menna maintains a similar spirit. Menna’s resume reads like a list of b-movie classics, with many comic tie-ins to Army of Darkness, Barbarella, Red Sonja, KISS, Doctor Who, and The Twilight Zone. So when it comes to monsters, Menna is overqualified to depict what little action there is in this first issue. He also captures the likenesses of Darcy and Joe Bob perfectly. The only flaw is that some panels are posed in an over-exaggerated fashion. Then again, so is Darcy.
Drive-In Totals: One dead body (extra crispy style), roughly a dozen living protesters who are dead inside, no breasts or aardvarking on account of the T for 13 and Up rating, Bottle Fu, Pimp Backhand Fu, and Set Lamp Fu.
KabOOOOOm Academy Award Nominations to the Colorist and Letterer on this book (who are not yet credited for their fantastic work) and to Dynamite Entertainment’s Dennis McGlynn and Nick Barrucci for allowing me the chance to review this after a minimum of unseemly begging.
Five O’s. Matt says check it out.
Monstervision Featuring Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy #1
arrives in comic shops everywhere on December 23, 2026.
However, you can still reserve a copy of the whole series and score some swag on Kickstarter.
