Comic Review: Ice Cream Man #6

Ice Cream Man #6

Image Comics

Writer: W. Maxwell Prince

Artist: Martin Morazzo

“Shhh…”

That is the caption that Ice Cream Man #6 opens with. That’s right folks; this is one of the rare silent issues. There are no lines of spoken dialogue. The issue is named “Strange Neapolitan.” Not only is it silent, but it is also telling three different stories in three different hues. You guessed it! The top panels are the pink “strawberry” panels, the middle is the yellow “vanilla,” and the bottom panels are brown “chocolate.” It’s unique, and it all adds up to Ice Cream Man is BACK!

I was enamored with the first issue of Ice Cream Man. The others never got close to the first issue, but this issue is what I am looking for from this creative team. The anthology design is so much fun and should give Prince near endless stories. In this issue, a man orders a Neapolitan ice cream cone. Once he leaves the ice cream truck to walk home the stories begin and each page follows the three paths. In the strawberry panel, he meets a girl and has a life with her. In the vanilla panel, he rescues an injured dog and lives out life with the dog. In the chocolate panel, my favorite, a horror story is carried out when he discovers insects of some sort in his ice cream.

W. Maxwell Prince has been able to keep the writing above par, but a lot of the issues have had trouble sticking to landing. This one pretty much avoids a lousy ending, but it still wasn’t a 100% to me. That said, I really enjoyed the issue, and outside of coming up with the storylines, Prince has little work in this issue.

Now, to the real standout…Martin Morazzo and colorist Chris O’Halloran pretty much make up the entirety of this issue. They are tasked with telling the story on their own and basically have to sketch, ink, and color three different comics with different tones here. The Neapolitan hues are a nice idea here and are used very well. This issue lives and dies by these panels, and it is nice to get another very solid issue out of this team.

Not much to say, except pick up this book. Ice Cream Man has been inconsistent, but this is the second best issue of the six they have released. They still peaked in #1, but I’m happy to say this issue feels like a return to form for them. Parts of this issue are incredibly dark, which is what I like about it, but it can off-putting for some readers. Still, think of Ice Cream Man like The Twilight Zone. If one episode is terrible, the next one could be amazing. The Ice Cream Man himself only connects the stories. If you like strange, dark anthologies that could take the reader anywhere, you won’t be wasting your time here.