Dexter’s Half Dozen – Review
When I attended True Believers earlier this year I was absolutely delighted to round a corner and see a table covered in copies of Dexter’s Half Dozen. I’ve had a list on my phone of things I heard reviewed on the Awesome Comics Podcast AGES ago and right at the top was Dexter’s Half Dozen. The Deadstar Publishing guys behind the table didn’t actually believe that until I showed them the list! Needless to say I snaffled both the collected trade of The Stone Child AND the tenth anniversary Ostheim Trilogy.
Dexter’s Half Dozen – The Stone Child
DHD is a supernatural pulp comic, think Indiana Jones meets Van Helsing meets, well, the Dirty Dozen. The titular six are a team of misfits led by Churchill’s top occult advisor. In The Stone Child they set out to rescue a British spy who has been captured by Nazis. Cue zombie armies led by werewolves in a bombastic, hilarious romp across war torn Europe.
Dexter’s Half Dozen is violent, gory and funny as hell. This elite squad of reprobates will lead you on adventures the likes of which you’ve only imagined. I am a sucker for supernatural takes on historical events so I absolutely loved this book.
The collected edition I picked up at True Believers is a newly remastered version of the first 3 issues and clocks in at a hefty 100 pages. Which flew by. Honestly I didn’t realise how quickly I had ploughed through it until I was finished and sitting there thinking “but… I want more”. Always a good sign.
Luckily… there WAS more.
The Ostheim Trilogy
The Ostheim Trilogy is the name given to 3 ashcans which have been collected together to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Dexter’s Half Dozen. Each of the 3 features our peerless six dispatching one member of a familial trio of vampires. The 3 ashcans came out over a period of years starting in 2010. In each subsequent instalment, as the next member of the vampiric family arrives, our heroes have trouble working out why they are so hated. It’s a rare running gag that gets funnier with each progression, but this one manages it!
All in all, I’d say that Dexter’s Half Dozen was well worth the wait to read. If you happen upon these guys at a con near you, you NEED to add this one to your reading list for sure! If you want to know where they will be, you can check their website here. There’s also a store so you can buy if you aren’t going to be at any of the cons they are attending. I know I’ll be looking out for them in the future and picking up the further exploits of Dexter’s Half Dozen!
