November 11 -- Marc Mason will be off this week but back live next Tuesday, November 18, with a look at Larry Young's ASTRONAUTS IN TROUBLE.
November 4, 2003
LORELEI (ISSUES 1 AND 2)
Written by Steven Roman and Drawn by Various
Published by Starwarp Concepts
LORELEI is a difficult book to review. On the one hand, it’s a tribute to the old Warren and EC Comics, with a distinct flavor of nostalgia designed to attract an audience that is most likely to be a bit older than the usual comic or graphic novel reader. That should make it simple. However, Roman is producing a book that comes out twice a year that is serializing two different stories starring the lead character, and these two issues don’t resolve either story. That makes it sort of difficult to pass any full judgment on.
What I can tell you is the basic premise: stacked and scantily clad Lorelei is a succubus. For those who don’t know what a succubus is, a succubus is a female demon who seduces men and steals their souls. That makes them pretty evil.
I’m happy in my relationship, so I’ll pass on making any misogynistic jokes.
Unlike most succubi, however, Lorelei only uses her powers for good, taking the souls of
bad guys and other scum of the Earth. That means that we find her in one story taking a walk with a schlubby looking guy she picked up in a bar and stealing his soul, and it turns out that he’s a great big child molester. You can insert your own anti-religion joke there.
If you take a modernist approach to LORELEI as a comic, it tends to fall a bit on the mediocre side of quality. The atmosphere feels dated, and the “bad girl” aspects to the art seem to appeal to the lowest common drooler. But maybe a modernist look at LORELEI isn’t what’s needed.
If you step back and look at the book as an homage to those older books, particularly classic Vampirella stuff, LORELEI stands up pretty well. It takes the subtle horror premise and plays it both for laughs and for yucks, and it offers up plenty of slices of cheesecake for the eyes. Roman may be limiting his audience a bit, but he at least knows who they are, which is a rarity these days, so I tip my hat to him. Most comics that fail in the current market do so because they have absolutely no clue who to market and sell the book to.
One of the serialized stories being played out in these two issues is the origin of the character, and that has most of the modern touches you’re going to find in these pages. Two women, one a stripper and the other a Mapplethorpe-type photographer, are the focus of the tale, and while one clearly becomes a succubus early in the story, it isn’t certain that she’s going to become the book’s lead character. The intrigue swirling around the photographer clearly seems to suggest that she will inherit the powers in question, if at the least so she can avoid her coming guest shot on a morning chat show. (Though a succubus taking care of the women on THE VIEW wouldn’t hurt my feelings.) The other story involves Lorelei chasing down a seemingly immortal bad guy, and we learn that she isn’t bulletproof, which seems kind of odd for a demon. Go figure.
What it boils down to is that LORELEI is very much a throwback comic, and if you like that sort of thing, then you’ll be pleased to buy it, and if you don’t, you’re going to hate it. There really isn’t much room in the middle for shoulder shrugging. So if comics about half-naked women engaging in battle and dancing around poles turn you off, skip this title when you see it on the shelf. But if you think that entertainment hasn’t been the same since Vincent Price died and DC stopped publishing HOUSE OF MYSTERY, then LORELEI is for you. And like any classic horror film with Price in it or directed by Roger Corman, the only Grade you can give it is Z.
Should It Be A Movie?
You could probably make any number of direct-to-video films starring LORELEI. Full Moon and Troma have made millions turning out franchises like PUPPET MASTER, OBLIVION, and TRANCERS on a low-budget, and LORELEI would fit perfectly in that stable. It’s a no-brainer.
However, I think there’s an even better idea out there. You have a supernaturally-powered heroine programmed for evil instead using her powers to do good and take out the bad guys in an act of redemption. In essence: LORELEI is BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER with ANGEL’s internal character arc and guilt. Buffy as the vampire with a soul, if you will. I think that actually bodes much better for a television series, don’t you?
Cranking out ninety minute flicks short on plot and character and long on flesh and gore would be simple, but the underlying concept for LORELEI could prove to be very rich if mined properly. Suddenly, a role that could be exploitive is one that has loads of potential for the right actress. Yes, the show would have to be a cable product, because the power of sex and seduction is the underlying atmosphere of the show, and LORELEI can’t just have it so easy that she can tempt every villain into kissing her chastely and dying. There’s going to be some flesh, and there’s going to be some gore involved, so a network like Showtime would be a more likely fit, but it can be done, and done faithfully to the source material.
As for casting, in a first, creator Steven Roman offered up his own suggestion to me: he likes Nikki Cox for the part, and who am I to argue with the creator of the character. Lorelei is a stunning redhead after all, and Cox matches that description perfectly. Cox has had obvious difficulties in finding roles that suit her well, and Lorelei might be the one that could take advantage of what she can do. Who knows?
See you all next week!
Send e-mail and Nikki Cox photos to the e-mail address below. Send review copies to: Marc Mason, 1756 S. College Ave., Tempe, AZ, 85281. Send your prayers and thoughts to our friends in Southern California. Be safe, everyone.
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