Comic Books

Dollman Kills the Full Moon Universe #1 review

Full Moon Features kicks off their new comic book imprint with a brutal debut.

July 13, 2018

Charles Band founded Full Moon Features back in 1988, and ever since, we’ve been treated to an entertaining cast of horror characters and films. Now, Full Moon Features is branching out into comics with their new publishing outlet, Full Moon Comix. If you’re familiar with the brand, you know the comics are going to be just as insane as films.

Over time we have seen The Punisher and Deadpool kill their own respective universes, but those stories are child’s play compared to Dollman Kills the Full Moon Universe! The first issue in this mini-series contains two stories (three if you’re lucky enough to pick up the SDCC exclusive — get your ticket to San Diego now!) filled with blood, gore, and all the B-rate goodness you expect from a Full Moon Feature.

Listen to the latest episode of our weekly comics podcast!

13 Inches of fury.

Brick Bardo, aka Dollman is a space cop from the planet Arturos who ended up on Earth after chasing an enemy through an energy band. So now Dollman is on Earth, armed with the most powerful handgun in the universe: his own custom “Groger Blaster.” But there’s just one problem — on Earth, Bardo is 13 inches tall. No matter the size, the Dollman is here to kill the Full Moon Universe!

The first story, titled “Out of the Box,” is about a group of young adults attempting to perform a ritual inside of Arcadia Toys that will bring the “Master” to life. Unfortunately for them, the ritual calls on the Demonic Toys who chase down the youngsters just as the Dollman shows up. This story has everything: blood, gore, monsters, a blonde bimbo, and an excellent story to begin Dollman’s journey.

Stuff like this is why Toys R Us closed down.

Shawn Gabborin’s scripting is on par with what you expect from these characters. The only thing that bothers me and is a pattern throughout the book is that there isn’t anything briefly explaining who is Dollman. If the cover of this book catches a new reader’s eye and trust me it will, there is no background given. Which can be confusing while reading certain panels where you see Dollman standing in all his 13-inch glory, not knowing why he is that small. I like Daniel Pascual’s art, especially the detail he puts into the Demonic Toys and Simon Robins’ colors paint a grim picture for the narrative.

Next up is “Familicide.” If you liked the film Head of the Family, you are going to dig this. The story is written by Brockton McKinney, who isn’t a stranger to Full Moon Features. He’s the writer of Evil Bong 666, and more recently The Gingerdead Man Meets Evil Bong, a comic book featuring two characters from the FMU. Dollman shows up looking for some action in disposing of the Stackpools and it gets brutal! Bridgit Connell pulls double duty with the artwork, doing both the illustrations and colors and does a brilliant job bringing the Stackpools to life, while making Dollman cool as ice.

That’s a big-ass head!

The final story is the SDCC exclusive, and I am not going to dive much into the details of this story except to say that it’s written by Brockton McKinney and the art is done by Dave Dwonch. Let’s just say weed may be involved in this story and it’s just as entertaining as the other two stories.

In case you haven’t figured it out, I like Dollman Kills the Full Moon Universe. I remember sneaking and watching these films when I was younger. Now I get to enjoy them in comic books. Despite my one issue with there not being a backstory introducing Dollman or the other characters, new readers can still pick this up and enjoy it. Fans of Full Moon Features, like me, will enjoy this cover to cover. I have been a fan of Dollman for a long time now and it’s going to be a fun ride watching him attempt to eliminate the Full Moon Universe!

You can pre-order Dollman Kills the Full Moon Universe now.