Hyde Street vol. 1
Out of the initial launch of titles by Geoff Johns from his Ghost Machine imprint, this was the hardest one to see the appeal in. “Geiger?” One superpowered man’s struggle through post-apocalyptic America. “Redcoat?” Historical adventure with a hero who’s a bit of a dick. “Rook: Exodus?” Sci-fi action with an animalistic/toyetic twist. “Hyde Street?” A series that apes old-school horror anthologies without actually being one? I can only assume that Johns, and artist/co-creator Ivan Reis really wanted to do something along those lines, which makes it especially disappointing that it doesn’t really work.
Hyde Street is actually a place in this series. A place that attracts lost souls to be punished or, in the case of people like Mr. X-Ray, to do the punishing. He was an advertising executive who pitched all sorts of crap to kids in the back of magazines because he thought they were easy marks. Then he started to regret things when he had a run-in with a girl claiming to be his daughter and now he spends his days punishing those who find their way onto Hyde Street. The good news is that once he’s punished 10,000 souls, he’ll get to leave and achieve his heart’s desire.
He’s not alone in this. There’s The Matinee Monster, a former actor who tries to save as many souls as he can. Miss Goodbody, a fitness instructor turned supplement salesperson who’s oh so close to leaving this place. Bloodthirsty surgeon Dr. Ego. Mysterious fortune teller Sister Hood. Rookies Green Blood and Jen Z Oh, and worst of all is Pranky. A bad seed Boy Scout in his previous life, he thrives on punishing any and all who cross his path and the one person who never wants to leave Hyde Street.
What’s wrong with all this? Well, it’s not scary. At all. The problem is that it feels like it should be since each story is pitched like the kind where a bad person receives their comeuppance in an ironic, gruesome, or ironically gruesome way (mostly the latter here). Like the old HBO “Tales From the Crypt” series, but without any of its style. Not helping things here is that every story so far has been thoroughly predictable. It’s easy to see where every one of them goes right from the start of the issue and there really aren’t any surprises along the way.
Another issue is that if this is meant to be a proper horror series, they’ve picked the wrong artist for this. Don’t get me wrong: Ivan Reis is a phenomenal talent, as seen in the many superhero books he’s illustrated with and without Johns at DC over the years. His work is wonderfully detailed here and he does his best to sell the dramatic beats in every story, just not any of the scares. The art on display here just feels too flashy and too full of energy to really be scary. Yes, Reis does try to deliver some scary monsters and faces throughout, but they just don’t feel that way at all. Same goes for the other artist on this book, Francis Portela: Right style, wrong book.
Then there are the characters and they don’t inspire a lot of confidence, yet. Pranky doesn’t feel like the series’ main character, even though a lot of space is given over to him in this volume. He’s more annoying than creepy, so it’s more fun to watch his plans be thwarted than succeed (which bodes well for vol. 2). Mr. X-Ray is meant to be a bit more sympathetic as he does what he does to try to get back to and make things right with his daughter. He’s pretty one-note in that regard, but he at least comes up with a plan to deal with Pranky here. Miss Goodbody also feels too simplistic to be of much interest here, and how the barely-there Sister Hood got to highlight the first “Hyde Street” spinoff, I’ll never know.
The one exception here is The Matinee Monster, who was once Oscar Oddman. An aspiring actor who was about to get his big break before he killed a man in a jealous rage and wound up on Hyde Street. Only, instead of punishing those deserving of it, he tries to save them instead. Which puts him at odds with not just Pranky, but the premise of the series and its orchestrator: The Scorekeeper.
I’ll give “Hyde Street” this: It at least sets up some interesting mysteries for itself to unravel over time. There’s some obvious mystery with regards to the characters we haven’t seen – such as The Butcher of Hyde Street – but how this place works and what The Scorekeeper’s agenda really is do at least pique my interest. This being is laissez-faire enough to let Pranky do what he wants, but when the Monster steps out of line the first time he’s nailed back into place. As for what else he has planned for the street’s inhabitants, I’m just a little curious to find out.
That doesn’t mean I think anyone else should feel compelled to follow along. Sure, “Hyde Street” has the same kind of professional polish and blockbuster sheen that I’ve come to expect from Johns’ Ghost Machine work, but it feels antithetical to the horror series he and Reis are trying to make here. It’s not scary, doesn’t have interesting stories, and the cast is a mix of intriguing, dull, and annoying. If you really want to see what Johns and Reis are capable of doing together, go check out their work on “Green Lantern” or “Aquaman” instead.