For the silver-anniversary issue of Tales from Purgatory, writer Randy Smallman has introduced full-colour covers, more than doubled his page count, and collaborated with eight artists, giving us fifteen short pieces, rather than the usual single 12-page story. The results are great. The artwork is wildly varied and all excellent, and Smallman’s stories deliver deliciously heavy doses of irony. Reminds me of Tales of the Unexpected. My favourite? A great send up of Ralph Klein, drawn by Michael Gushue, in which Klein’s soul has to re-live life in Purgatory as a victim of his own political policies. Worth the $2.50 admission alone! (Shaun Smith)
comic, #25, 28 pages, Randy Smallman (with artists Fred Curatolo, Ron Holmes, Greg Bain, Michael Gushue, Warren Allen, Kelly Goodine, The Jam and Tracey Risser), $2.50, 10506-96 Ave. 12, Edmonton, AB, T5K 0A8, [email protected]