Happy Halloween, everyone! We cap off the month with another 80s sequel, this time for one of my favorite movies, The Lost Boys.
#spoilers
Unlike the movie sequels that came out in the new millennium, this book has the perfect opportunity to act as a direct sequel to the 1987 classic. We pick up mere months after the events of the film, where life in Santa Carla has gone on. Sam is working at the comic store, Michael is working at a retirement home, and the Frog Brothers are honing their skills with the aid of Grandpa.
All the while a new vampire threat is emerging out of the ashes of the prior gang… A gang of “Lost Girls.” Oh yeah, and David is still alive and he’s their little lapdog; it’s pretty hilarious. It’s also a whole conspiracy where Star is actually one of their gang and was originally sent to infiltrate the Lost Boys. It suffers from unnecessary sequel ret-conning, but I’m willing to forgive it since the book is pretty entertaining… to me, anyway.
It pretty much goes as one might expect. There’s a big plot for world domination and all the vampire slaying goodness to be had. My big issue is that Grandpa is killed off in the first issue. It certainly sets the stakes (pun intended), but Grandpa is far too blissful a character to just axe off. He was the biggest punch line of the movie, so killing him at the start of this seems a little hollow… and just too personal.
My favorite thing, something I imagine few might agree with, is the inclusion of “The Believer,” the sax guy from the movie. Yeah, apparently he’s a big time vampire hunting religious fanatic, and that oil he’s always greased up with is basically holy water, making it near impossible for a vampire to touch him. That guy was already a hilarious highlight on film, so I’m more than fine with then blowing him up into this new form of hilarity. (He also got his own Variant Cover, which was awesome).
All in all if you’re a fan of Lost Boys this is definitely worth a look. I’m not always 100% sold on it, but there’s enough here that makes me revisit. It’s a neat “what if” that takes advantage of the medium and has a little fun, too.
TL;DR Score: Seriously… I can’t believe I actually spent money on this variant… Then again… I suppose…. I STILL BELIEVE!!!
TL;DR Comics 