MINDBEAST

 

MINDBEAST

A Vermin Adventure

By Darryle Purcell

Offbeat Publishing

180 pgs

 

“Mindbeast” is the second in the new Vermin series by veteran pulpster, Darryle Purcell. The Vermin, dreaded foe of villainy, is in reality gifted cartoonist Vernon Jiles who has the ability to create life-like illusions and twist people’s perception of reality. He also brings to life the animal heroes and villains of his comic books. In this second adventure, which takes places a little over year since the first, Vernon has married Tenacity, his inking assistant and they have a baby boy named Vincent.

As the tale opens, several giant monsters appear in various locals around their home; one on an old western movie lot and the other down the street from their studios. Vernon quickly deduces the monsters are mere illusions much like those he weaves as the Vermin. The logical, and frightening, conclusion is there exist someone else with his abilities. Only this other illusionist is possessed with the obsession to amass power and wealth regardless of who he has to destroy to obtain it.

Then when this twisted soul joins forces with one of the Vermin’s old red terrorist foes, the action amps up fast. Once again, Purcell’s exuberant imagination is on full display and he spins a fast pace adventure filled with tons of action, awesome and fun heroes and truly merciless, black-hearted baddies. This is old fashioned, fun pulp at its finest.