Bionic stomachs and giant alien ticks—Grindhouse, you are an embarrassment of riches.

Creative Staff:
Story and Letters:Alex de Campi
Art: Chris Peterson
Colors: Nolan Woodard

What They Say:
Deputy Garcia is back, and this time the shotgun-toting Latina is sporting the latest in badass cybernetic enhancements! But can her new augmentations prepare her for the giant, man-eating ticks that now rise from a small southern town’s mysterious blood lagoon?

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Grindhouse, Alex de Campi’s B-movie inspired horror anthology is back, and so is Deputy Garcia.

Garcia once served as the deputy in a small Texas town, but that changed when bee vixens from Mars invaded and destroyed the population. Despite getting a giant stinger through the stomach, Garcia is back and ready for action, thanks largely to her Russian pal Sergei and his partner Wayne who fitted her with a cybernetic stomach (sentences like this are what make me love this series). Now Garcia is doing Wayne a solid and driving him to Alabama so he can talk with his estranged father, making sure to bring plenty of beer and ribs to placate the old man.

Unfortunately, Garcia has the worst luck imaginable when it comes to monster arthropods from outer space. Giant alien ticks rise out of the blood slurry from the local abattoir, and every victim they take only seems to increase their size. Garcia and Wayne pack dear ol’ dad in their truck and high tail it out of there (also taking a moment to inform him that Wayne is going to marry Sergei), but Wayne makes them stop to save their neighbors, Vikki and her son Darryl, who then insist that they need to save the whole town. Luckily, Vikki’s dad was a former Black Panther who modified a pickup for the upcoming revolution, and now they’re going to paint the town red with space tick innards, or die trying.

One of my favorite parts of writing a Grindhouse review (other than reading the comic) is recapping the story. They’re big and fun and crazy in all the right ways, capturing the spirit of the cinema from which it gets its name. The stories range from alien invaders to ghosts to straight up revenge tales, but they all contain an almost manic energy, as if the story is too big to be contained by the medium. What de Campi does is capture that energy and meld it with solid writing.

Let’s face it, as fun as they are, Grindhouse movies were never known for the quality of their writing. We overlook flaws in logic and plot and character because the overall experience is so much fun. The comic, on the other hand, features great writing. It’s subtle because de Campi desires to honor the genre, but it’s there, and adds a depth of emotion and character that makes these stories matter more.

Art-wise, Chris Peterson draws this issue and he does a great job. His style falls more towards the cartoony than the realistic, and that fits the story because it allows for a greater flexibility in character expressions, actions, and backgrounds that help sell the emotional beats of the story. This is especially important in a horror story like this because the mood it establishes is critical and often serves as the reason we consume them.

Nolan Woodard’s colors are also integral for selling the mood. He uses a rich palette of startling, sometimes opposing colors, creating a visual tension and sense of unease. His skies in particular are great.

In Summary:
Grindhouse: Drive In, Bleed Out #3 is another great issue in one of my favorite anthology series. The quality of the writing and art and the enthusiasm for the genre consistently make this one of the most enjoyable titles out there. If you’re a horror fan, you should check this out.

Grade: A

Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Dark Horse
Release Date: March 25th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99