Written by Juanita ‘Obi-Juan’ Bonner  Last we saw Charles Talent Manx; he was deep in Christmasland with his newest child companion closing the chapter on his sad and really quite disturbing origin story. In short order, we learned just exactly how he became the weirdest, yet deliciously evil adaptation of a vampire I’ve seen to date. This time, before we circle back around with Volume 7 to close out Manx’s pre-novel and television series arc… as promised, we’ll DRIVE right into a five-chapter tale that brings layers of storytelling and lots of devilish little surprises. Of course, Manx and his Wraith play their parts, but really take a back seat… ahem, no pun intended… to the tale of a group of prisoners and their guards who end up on the wrong road both metaphorically and quite literally. So, before you can say, or rather sing, Jingle Bells, let’s get started… shall we? Opening miles away from Charlie’s stomping grounds of Gunbarrel, Colorado, we see a rooftop Christmas party (I mean…duh!!) in a place called Doublecross, California in 1988. Interesting name, no? Some loud-and foul-mouthed corporate guy is going on about an expensive golf club he received via secret Santa. The name on the building reads Chatham-Pratt Medical. A guy with an RR minor league baseball cap that completely reminds me, as it should, of the Rolls Royce symbol, sits in his car holding a gun. Page one and we’re off to a good start… LOL. Cut to page two and the same guy, who apparently used to be a teacher and goes by the name Chess Llewellyn, is being transported in the back of a prisoner van marked California Department of Corrections (CDOC) with two nefarious looking fellows. As seen on this volume’s cover, one has the card symbols of a red heart and a black spade tattooed around either eye, which looks as weird as it sounds. Not to mention his forked tongue… YIKES!! The other, a fracking child rapist donned in large rose-colored glasses and a creepy mustache that make him look like an 80s porn-star (YUK!!) who goes by the name by Mr. Dewey Hansom (GROSS!!), so really isn’t what his misspelled name implies… LOL! It’s now 1989 and apparently that fun with a gun on page one granted Chess a 7-year sentence. The guards, Agnes and Kevin, are in the cab chatting on the finer points of carnival geeks, which seemingly used to be card face’s (Denis Sykes) gig before he turned to thievery. Looks as if Sykes used to eat odd items for audience entertainment. Ewww! Why am I not surprised that this guy with a forked tongue just gets worse with every page? As the van barrels down Route 66, we see a man on a Triumph motorcycle pass them by. Remember, these comics are a prequel to Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 novel (William Morrow & Company; 2013) so yep, I’ll take that Triumph as nice nod to one Victoria “Vic” McQueen – HECK YA!! Sykes begins to verbally provoke Kevin with gruesome intent causing him to furiously open the metal gate separating the cab from the prisoners and mace Sykes. He drops to the van floor and vomits which turns out, was the plan all along as he states: “As for being a carny geek, it’s not the eating that’s hard. It’s keeping things down. I’ve had this wire in my stomach six weeks, waiting for today…” – WHOA!! Chaos ensues! And as you would imagine, the van ride gets pretty rocky. Just up ahead, behind a large California road sign marked I-15 2mi/Hesperia 10mi, sits the guy on the motorcycle, looking a bit like a slower and even dumpier Uncle Fester (MGM Television; 1964). LOL. Covered in tattoos, he’s perched on the bike loading a sawed-off shotgun as the van approaches. All part of the plan, I see. Sykes, using his own chains, has Kevin in a strangle hold and he’s yelling at Agnes to pull over. Things get even hairier as Sykes finds Kevin’s gun. At this point, I’ve literally forgotten all about Charlie Manx and Christmasland and am fully on board with this escape plan obviously about to go very, very awry… LOL!! The panels seem to be moving as fast as the van and yelling just as loud as Agnes!! Chess and Hansom take a back seat as they seem completely unaware of Sykes plan. “CHAKKK!!” A bullet flies past Agnes’ head and through the windshield. HOLY COW… that escalated quick! As the van swerves then tumbles, the guy on the motorcycle, along with the road sign, are wiped clean. I mean, he was behind the sign and welp… he, nor I, didn’t see that one coming… LOL!! In the midst of the van rolling over, the next couple of pages walk us through a memory of Chess and his son at a baseball game. The color scheme is completely different than the previous pages depicting a simpler and happier time. The boy has a large bouquet of balloons with an idea of letting them go with secret messages tied to them. Aww, that’s almost too cute for this wicked tale, am I right? As they watch the balloons leave, Chess remarks to his son, “Maybe they’ll go all the way to the North Pole. You should’ve written your Christmas list on one of those.” NICE Joe Hill! Keep those nods a-comin! *Wink* The mood is dampened slightly when the boy seems a bit off with “A hiccup trying to get out,” which apparently got stuck then went away. Each balloon floats above a warm blue sky and I’m left with a calm yet inquisitive, “the f@ck was that?” feeling. The layers of storytelling are fantastic. I mean… obviously, Chess’s ride to prison has something to do with his son, but we have yet to know the details. Just some tiny morsels for us to chew on here and there and I LOVE IT! Back to the crash!!  A blurry eyed Chess is helped from the wreckage by Agnes who then suddenly takes a slap to the face with the butt of the sawed-off shotgun – retrieved by Hansom. Dude, she’s handcuffed! I mean… what a dick!! Kevin appears to have a broken ankle and is quite pissed about it… LOL. But seriously fella, you let a letch like Sykes get to you. Though, he did invoke some pretty crass statements about Kevin’s wife and child, so yeah… there’s that!! Speaking of Sykes. The crazy f@&k appears to be mourning the death of the motorcycle guy. A fellow carny named Moon Boy. Yep, that names totally fits his Uncle Fester vibe… LOL! Not to mention his entire bald head was covered in moon tattoos. Man, I love the moon and Joe Hill must as well, considering this is a nice tie-in to Charlie’s Man in the Moon. NEAT! In the story at hand, seems Moon Boy set up the whole escape, including the unfortunate events surrounding Kevin’s wife and the passing of the wire via a kiss to Sykes at their last county lock-up visit. Wait, did I just feel sympathy for these two? Nah, can’t be… can it? Grief stricken and angry, Sykes doesn’t take kindly to Agnes and blames her for Moon Boy’s death. She tells him it was an accident and says she’s sorry, but then sarcastically says, “If I could do it over, I’d try to hit him without rolling the van. My insurance is going to go up.” AHAHA, I like this chick!!
‘Ol Dewey, because somehow, calling him that is better than Hansom (LOL!), pipes up and says they’re not far from where he shot Hellhole 2 and if they can get to the warehouse used on set, he can contact a guy that can help them disappear for good. Wait… Dewey might actually have been a porn star… LOL!?! He says this guy owes him big time for not ratting him out to the DA. Hmm, things are adding up, now aren’t they?? Dewey may not have been part of the escape plan to begin with, but his solution is all they have left. Chess helps Kevin hobble along followed by a handcuffed Agnes and the two idiots holding guns at their backs. They make their way to the old warehouse which is marked with a big red traditional and cartoonish devil face with the words Devil May Care Studios encircling the giant eyesore. As they wait outside, Dewey makes a phone call. He returns with news that their ride is on the way as he states, “He’s coming. Give him time. When he’s done with us, people will think we fell off the edge of the earth.” I find it funny that this disgusting moron has no idea just how right he really is. Because we definitely know who’s coming, don’t we kids?? Dewey tells Chess to keep a look out and as the day fades to night, far off in the distance a lowly crescent moon takes shape. Soon, bright lights appear on the horizon as we see a black car snake its way down the windy road. I love the panel sequence here. Three of them with Chess looking the same – keeping watch. The first, it’s still light. The second the crescent moon appears in a dark and starless sky. The third… headlights. As if day, turned night moon, turned Wraith. Subtle, eerie and AWESOME! The final panel, quite similar to Volume One’s cover – minus the bloody handprints – has a red eyed Manx bearing a slightly evil grin and holding the door of the Wraith open and he simply states, “You called?” THE END! Hopefully you can see why it was so easy for me to read all 7 of these comics in one sitting. The artwork is quite descriptive using simple elements like tattoos, blood, windy roads and dark shadows juxtaposed against dusky desert daylight and Joshua trees. While the story within the story surrounding Chess is lighter and softer. The dialogue is just as detailed giving you a hot take on every character’s make-up that complements their drawing relatively nicely. In short. These characters are quite believable and by the end, you WILL want to know more!! So, in that case, come on back next week as we walk through Volume 3 – Chapter 2: Dark Passage and in the mean-time, keep up on all things Christmasland with our NOS4A2 Collections page right here! Until next time… remember Sykes’ words: “I admire a good side show, and this feels like a fun one. Pleasantly diverting.” ‘The Wraith: Welcome to Christmasland’ – Volume 2 – ‘Chapter 1: The Getaway’ IDW Publishing; Dec 2013 – Author: Joe Hill; Illustrations: Charles Paul Wilson III; Colors: Jay Fotos; Letters: Shawn Lee and Robbie Robbins; Edits: Chris Ryall
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