Tarantula, Case File 1: Penumbra

Picked this graphic novel up based on the ad for it in Previews (the magazine that gives the solicitations of all the comics coming out in a particular month, usually 2 or 3 months in advance of their actually hitting the newsstand). I'm usually willing to give indy comics that feature female protagonists a try, and this one seemed fairly interesting.

It was not at all what I was expecting!

Who is Tarantula? That is not a question that is answered in this first story.  Yes, readers will immediately see that she is a tough-as-nails crime-fighting super hero that deals with more than simple street villains.  Yes, readers will get a brief glimpse of her origin - of how she was taken in as a little girl by Senor Muerta and trained to fight and survive.  Yes, readers will see her bravely take on a number of supernatural miscreants, such as vampires and werewolves and even demons from beyond.  But other than that, this new super hero remains a mystery.

"My name is Tarantula.  It's not the name I was born with, but it's the name that suits what I have become - - a protector of the innocent, an agent of order in a world of chaos.  And as long as I draw breath, I will destroy evil in whatever form it takes!"

That is who Tarantula is.  Written by Favian Rangel Jr. and with art by Alexis Zieritt, Tarantula is a throwback to the comics of the '40s and '50s. It is a mixture of horror and superhero.  It tells a straightforward story, gives readers just the information they need to know to enjoy the tale, and doesn't bog the book down with extended backstories or flashy splash pages every other page.  Tarantula is the tale of one woman who is determined to take down the criminal element in her town, only to discover that there is a satanic cult that is out to do more than just control her town.  Calling in a favor from her old mentor, Senor Muerta, and teaming up with the new vigilante in town, Sombra, she takes the battle to the villains in order to stop them from opening a gateway that will unleash Penumbra on the world.

The art is a bit what I would call primitive - and maybe that's not the correct word, as it's bad, per se, but it's not what I would call standard in today's comic world.  However, it is certainly fitting for the story and the character, and swings back and forth from little to no backgrounds to very detailed backgrounds (depending on what is happening with the story/characters).  And the book is colored in mostly red and black, with some blue, green, and yellow thrown in here and there for added effect.

Not sure if there will be any more original graphic novels featuring Tarantula, but if Rangel and Zieritt get together to tell more stories, I'd be likely to buy them.

RATING:  7 lucha libre detectives out of 10 for telling a comic story the way it should be told - simple, to the point, and done-in-one!