A review of Friday the 13th: Bad Land 1 & 2 By Eric Singer (Superman's Pal) March 21, 2008 Rating: 3.0 / 10

Writer: Ron Marz
Artist: Mike Huddleston

"I seriously doubt there’s anyone wandering around out there in this weather. We’re the only ones that dumb, remember?"

Why do they keep printing these stories, and why do I keep reading them? I’ve mentioned before my love for that shambling mound of unkindness, Jason Voorhees. I guess it’s always enthralling to see a master craftsman at work, and Jason is truly a master at the craft of killing. And that’s enough for me. He just kills and kills and kills because it’s what he’s good at and it’s all he knows. I don’t need to know the hows and whys of his return from the grave, or his superhuman strength. I don’t want to know that Crystal Lake is haunted or his mom practiced voodoo or some demon marked Jason with a curse or something. Who needs it?

Now here’s a story set in two eras. Somewhen about a hundred-plus years back, some white men roam the wilderness of Crystal Lake and run into some Indians. Meanwhile in the present day some campers in the woods at Crystal Lake run into Jason. The parallels are staggering.

Three trappers looking for shelter in a blizzard find an Indian hut with a fire burning. Inside is an Indian woman nursing her infant. The men help themselves to the fire, then to her food, and finally to the woman herself. After raping her, the men fight amongst themselves and wind up killing the woman in the process. Her husband comes home, sees what’s happening and attacks. They kill him too, but he doesn’t stay dead. He rises from the grave to hunt the men through the frozen forest.

In the present, three campers find a warm toasty cabin at the Camp Crystal Lake grounds, perfect shelter from their own blizzard. This time we’ve got two guys and a girl. One guy likes the girl but she goes for the other guy. The first guys storms off, feeling rejected. They all run into Jason and you can guess what happens next.

Now, if these are parallel stories, exactly what dots are we supposed to connect? The trappers are a cruel and vicious bunch who rape and kill a woman. The modern-day campers are having a minor lovers’ quarrel. I don’t see parallel lives here. Likewise the Indian husband is a victim seeking revenge. What about Jason? He waved bye-bye to innocence and victimization long ago, he murders for his own self-satisfaction. Or are we supposed to get that sometimes bad things happen to good people, and sometimes they happen to bad people? I dunno.

At least they wrapped it in two issues. Stories like this shouldn’t last six. Too bad the writers of "Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash" didn’t know that.

Discuss This Review at:
The Vertigo/Wildstorm Message Board

Review Archives
All reviews by Eric Singer (Superman's Pal)