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The Mask
The Mask Omnibus Volume 2
A mystical artifact from ancient times, known only as the Mask, will give whoever dons it near limitless power.
With the mask on, there is nothing beyond your ability, which explains why every crook, criminal, and lowlife is itching to get their hands on it. The hunt for the mask goes from sea to shining sea, involving voodoo, Amazonian tribesmen, ninjas, Mafiosi, Crypto-Nazis...and the barded Thespian Club!
This Omnibus edition collects over 375 story pages collected for the first time at this size! These stories from the universe of the acclaimed film series come from talents such as Evan Dorkin, Kyle Hotz, Bob Fingerman, Peter Gross, John Arcudi, Doug Mahnke, and more!
Collects The Mask: The Hunt for Green October, The Mask: World Tour, The Mask: Southern Discomfort, The Mask: Toys in the Attic, material from Decade: A Dark Horse Short Story Collection and Dark Horse Presents #134-153
With the mask on, there is nothing beyond your ability, which explains why every crook, criminal, and lowlife is itching to get their hands on it. The hunt for the mask goes from sea to shining sea, involving voodoo, Amazonian tribesmen, ninjas, Mafiosi, Crypto-Nazis...and the barded Thespian Club!
This Omnibus edition collects over 375 story pages collected for the first time at this size! These stories from the universe of the acclaimed film series come from talents such as Evan Dorkin, Kyle Hotz, Bob Fingerman, Peter Gross, John Arcudi, Doug Mahnke, and more!
Collects The Mask: The Hunt for Green October, The Mask: World Tour, The Mask: Southern Discomfort, The Mask: Toys in the Attic, material from Decade: A Dark Horse Short Story Collection and Dark Horse Presents #134-153
384 pages, Paperback
First published March 25, 2008
29 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
About the author
Evan Dorkin
276 books143 followersEvan Dorkin is an American comics artist and writer.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 28, 2022
Hunt For Green October was good. Everything else misses the Mark completely just like The Mask Strikes Back
September 30, 2019
After the first omnibus of The Mask, volume 2 is more of 'fillers' with some good stories, some not. As always, the formula of the stories aren't much different than the rest. Here's the low down of what's inside of volume 2:
The Hunt for Green October - Every mercenary in the world is looking for the green mask and now, Ray Tuttle, a poor pawn shop owner bought the green menace and wear it to wreck havoc in Sky City! With so much chaos, Lieutenant Kellaway will do any thing to stop Big-Head from destroying people's lives! (3.5 out of 5)
World Tour - The Mask has gone to another dimension... Dark Horse Universe style! When mentally unstable General Blaire wears the mask, he visits Steel Harbor, Arcadia and Golden City to make chaos looks like a walk in the park. All the heroes from DHCU will do anything to stop Big Head! (2.5 out of 5)
Southern Discomfort - The Mask is now in New Orleans! Voodoo and madness stumbles upon the south where Big Head (worn by Eric Martin) is looking for his missing sister. He will tear New Orleans apart to find her, even if the supernatural and alligators is in his way! (3 out of 5)
Night of the Return of the Living Ipkiss... Kinda - The return of Stanley Ipkiss, zombified and wearing the mask to seek revenge in this short story! (3 out of 5)
Toys in the Attic - Aldo Krasker is on the edge and looking for new ideas to create a new toyline of toys when he bought a mask that gives him the idea he needs... and more! Out for revenge when he was mocked and ridicule during his younger days, Big Head is fulfilling what he wants, which is revenge, in a way New York City will never be the same again! And Lieutenant Kellaway is going to stop (again) Big Head from destroying the city. (3 out of 5)
Various writers have wrote their version of The Mask and so far, I enjoyed Evan Dorkin's The Hunt for Green October the most. The rest felt like a repeated formula that doesn't serve any better than the original two. Overall - I love and enjoy reading The Mask and its one of those comics that Dark Horse had a title that truly defines DHC.
May 19, 2022
Dostępne jest tutaj pięć klasycznych historii, pośród których każdy powinien znaleźć coś interesującego dla siebie. Każda z nich potrafi być na swój sposób intrygująca i mocno rozrywkowa. Ze wspomnianego „pięciopaka” można jednak wyróżnić pewne rozdziały, które na tyle mocno błyszczą, że mocniej przykuwają wzrok czytelnika (ocena oczywiście subiektywna).
Najlepszą moim zdaniem z dostępnych tutaj historii jest ta zatytułowana „Światowe tourne” autorstwa Roberta Lorena Fleminga i artysty Gary’ego Erskine’a. Powinna się ona spodobać fanom superbohaterów ze stajni Dark Horse. Jest to crossover, który miesza uniwersa i pokazuje jak na tle innych herosów, prezentuje się posiadacz tytułowej „maski”. Pojawiające się tutaj postacie, może nie są jakoś szalenie popularne, ale na pewno nie można im odmówić charyzmy i zdolności porównywalnych do bardziej rozpoznawalnych kolegów. Całość utrzymana w formie pastiszu gatunku, gdzie akcja miesza się z szaloną dawką humoru.
Na drugim miejscu plasuje się rozdział „Polowanie na zielony październik”. Zeszyt napisany przez Evana Dorkina i zobrazowany przez Petera Grossa. Pomimo dość sugestywnej nazwy nie pojawia się tutaj żadna łódź podwodna. Jest to prosta, ale i dość mroczna opowieść o zemście. Bohaterem jest tutaj człowiek, dla którego życie nie było zbyt łaskawe. Stracił on kogoś bardzo bliskiego i nigdy nie doczekał się należytej „sprawiedliwości”. W tej kwestii wiele się zmienia w momencie, kiedy w jego ręce wpadnie pewna „maska”. Jest to również ciekawie zaprezentowany przegląd najróżniejszych przestępców, którzy poszukują maski i chcą wykorzystać jej moc.
Na ostatnim stopniu podium znalazła się historia „Przykrość południa” (scenariusz Rich Hedden, rysunki Goran Delic). Opowieść wyróżnia się przede wszystkim głównym bohaterem, który stara się okiełznać moc „maski”. Jest nim Martin, który zdobyte moce planuje wykorzystać do uratowania swojej siostry z rąk gangsterów Nowego Orleanu. Udając się w ten rejon Stanów Zjednoczonych, można wręcz być pewnym, że motywem przewodnim będzie tutaj voodoo. W przeciwieństwie do innych zawartych w omnibusie rozdziałów ten jest o wiele bardziej mroczny i poważniejszy.
Wszystkie zawarte w omnibusie historie mają więc swój urok. Powstały one jednak po sukcesie filmu z Jimem Carrey’em, co częściowo wpłynęło na ich strukturę. Maska nadal jest widowiskowa i czasem skrajnie brutalna (tak jak oryginalne komiksy). Dużo większy nacisk położony zostaje tutaj jednak na najróżniejszego rodzaju gagi. Szalony humor wypełnia sporą ilość miejsca, stając się przeciwwagą do lejącej się tutaj krwi. Jednych taka przemiana zachwyci, inni zaś mogą do niej podchodzić z większą rezerwą. Niezależnie jednak od tego każdy, kto zdecyduje się sięgnąć po Maska #2, zapewni sobie gargantuiczną dawkę dobrej rozrywki.
https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/recen...
Najlepszą moim zdaniem z dostępnych tutaj historii jest ta zatytułowana „Światowe tourne” autorstwa Roberta Lorena Fleminga i artysty Gary’ego Erskine’a. Powinna się ona spodobać fanom superbohaterów ze stajni Dark Horse. Jest to crossover, który miesza uniwersa i pokazuje jak na tle innych herosów, prezentuje się posiadacz tytułowej „maski”. Pojawiające się tutaj postacie, może nie są jakoś szalenie popularne, ale na pewno nie można im odmówić charyzmy i zdolności porównywalnych do bardziej rozpoznawalnych kolegów. Całość utrzymana w formie pastiszu gatunku, gdzie akcja miesza się z szaloną dawką humoru.
Na drugim miejscu plasuje się rozdział „Polowanie na zielony październik”. Zeszyt napisany przez Evana Dorkina i zobrazowany przez Petera Grossa. Pomimo dość sugestywnej nazwy nie pojawia się tutaj żadna łódź podwodna. Jest to prosta, ale i dość mroczna opowieść o zemście. Bohaterem jest tutaj człowiek, dla którego życie nie było zbyt łaskawe. Stracił on kogoś bardzo bliskiego i nigdy nie doczekał się należytej „sprawiedliwości”. W tej kwestii wiele się zmienia w momencie, kiedy w jego ręce wpadnie pewna „maska”. Jest to również ciekawie zaprezentowany przegląd najróżniejszych przestępców, którzy poszukują maski i chcą wykorzystać jej moc.
Na ostatnim stopniu podium znalazła się historia „Przykrość południa” (scenariusz Rich Hedden, rysunki Goran Delic). Opowieść wyróżnia się przede wszystkim głównym bohaterem, który stara się okiełznać moc „maski”. Jest nim Martin, który zdobyte moce planuje wykorzystać do uratowania swojej siostry z rąk gangsterów Nowego Orleanu. Udając się w ten rejon Stanów Zjednoczonych, można wręcz być pewnym, że motywem przewodnim będzie tutaj voodoo. W przeciwieństwie do innych zawartych w omnibusie rozdziałów ten jest o wiele bardziej mroczny i poważniejszy.
Wszystkie zawarte w omnibusie historie mają więc swój urok. Powstały one jednak po sukcesie filmu z Jimem Carrey’em, co częściowo wpłynęło na ich strukturę. Maska nadal jest widowiskowa i czasem skrajnie brutalna (tak jak oryginalne komiksy). Dużo większy nacisk położony zostaje tutaj jednak na najróżniejszego rodzaju gagi. Szalony humor wypełnia sporą ilość miejsca, stając się przeciwwagą do lejącej się tutaj krwi. Jednych taka przemiana zachwyci, inni zaś mogą do niej podchodzić z większą rezerwą. Niezależnie jednak od tego każdy, kto zdecyduje się sięgnąć po Maska #2, zapewni sobie gargantuiczną dawkę dobrej rozrywki.
https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/recen...
August 27, 2019
Las historias de este Omnibus fueron escritas tras la película de Jim Carrey, y se nota una pérdida de rumbo, como si no supieran si seguir contando historias tan locas y violentas como en el tomo anterior, o aventuras más similares a la película de Chuck Russell. Este problema de identidad hace que las historias no sepan lo que quieren contar, en algunos casos parecen improvisadas y que deciden cambiar sus ideas a mitad del camino, como en el caso de la última historia, con un final tan repentino que llama a pensar que está escrito así porque se quedaban sin páginas, frente a la trama repetitiva anterior de "encontrar cadaver-teoría-repetir"...
Dos historias destacan en este tomo: "Tour Mundial" se centra en crossovers con otros cómics de Dark Horse, pero carecen de interés al no conocer a ninguno de los otros personajes, con excepción de Barwire, y a ella solo por su película. A diferencia de los crossovers del tomo basado en la serie animada, la historia no es lo importante, lo es ir pasando de un personaje y ciudad a otro.
En el lado opuesto, destaca positivamente "Malestar Sureño", con una historia donde alguien trata de controlar los caóticos poderes de la máscara para usar el bien, pero no para volverse un superhéroe como en historias anteriores, sino para hacer algo más urgente, salvar a un familiar en apuros. Esta historia podría haber sido una buena base para más aventuras, el trasfondo vudú le daría un rival digno a los poderes casi ilimitados de la máscara, aunque el secuaz inmortal en muchas ocasiones recordaba demasiado a Walter.
Dos historias destacan en este tomo: "Tour Mundial" se centra en crossovers con otros cómics de Dark Horse, pero carecen de interés al no conocer a ninguno de los otros personajes, con excepción de Barwire, y a ella solo por su película. A diferencia de los crossovers del tomo basado en la serie animada, la historia no es lo importante, lo es ir pasando de un personaje y ciudad a otro.
En el lado opuesto, destaca positivamente "Malestar Sureño", con una historia donde alguien trata de controlar los caóticos poderes de la máscara para usar el bien, pero no para volverse un superhéroe como en historias anteriores, sino para hacer algo más urgente, salvar a un familiar en apuros. Esta historia podría haber sido una buena base para más aventuras, el trasfondo vudú le daría un rival digno a los poderes casi ilimitados de la máscara, aunque el secuaz inmortal en muchas ocasiones recordaba demasiado a Walter.
July 20, 2021
I give this 3 stars just because 3 stories manage to hold my interest. This second volume collects pretty much all the mask stories that weren't done by the main duo Arcudi/Mahnke, except for a short story they did.
My ratings for each story:
* The Hunt For The Green October 4/5 - The closest non-Arcudi script that manages to be almost on par with the first couple of mini-series. The Mask falls on the hands of a widower who's taking caring of a daughter that's recovering from the trauma of her mother's death. It's touching and the humour is on point.
* World Tour 1/5 - The worst story in this collection. The Mask ends up in another universe and Big-Head crosses paths with a bunch of characters that the book never bothers to tell us are actually pretty-unknown super heroes from Dark Horse (except from Ghost, they mention her omnibus, and also Barb Wire.
* Southern Discomfort 2/5 - Okay-ish story about a dude searching for her missing sister in New Orleans.
* Night of The Return of the Living Ipkiss...Kinda 5/5 - This short story is the best in this book. No surprise since it's the only one by Arcudi and Mahnke. Stanly Ipkiss returns, or so it seems.
*Toys in The Attic 3/5 - The writers of this story apparently liked Seven so much that they felt they had to make an homage to it (I'm not calling it a rip-off because there are several nods to Seven). It's okay-ish but it has too many similar beats to the original Mini-series, which make it pretty pointless. Plus Kellaway's characterization it's WAY out of character. Still, it's engaging enough.
My ratings for each story:
* The Hunt For The Green October 4/5 - The closest non-Arcudi script that manages to be almost on par with the first couple of mini-series. The Mask falls on the hands of a widower who's taking caring of a daughter that's recovering from the trauma of her mother's death. It's touching and the humour is on point.
* World Tour 1/5 - The worst story in this collection. The Mask ends up in another universe and Big-Head crosses paths with a bunch of characters that the book never bothers to tell us are actually pretty-unknown super heroes from Dark Horse (except from Ghost, they mention her omnibus, and also Barb Wire.
* Southern Discomfort 2/5 - Okay-ish story about a dude searching for her missing sister in New Orleans.
* Night of The Return of the Living Ipkiss...Kinda 5/5 - This short story is the best in this book. No surprise since it's the only one by Arcudi and Mahnke. Stanly Ipkiss returns, or so it seems.
*Toys in The Attic 3/5 - The writers of this story apparently liked Seven so much that they felt they had to make an homage to it (I'm not calling it a rip-off because there are several nods to Seven). It's okay-ish but it has too many similar beats to the original Mini-series, which make it pretty pointless. Plus Kellaway's characterization it's WAY out of character. Still, it's engaging enough.
October 13, 2023
The whole "super power that corrupts the person using it" thing has been done a million times. What makes it interesting in this case is that the person wearing the mask transforms into a Judge Doom type character: an invulnerable cartoon who can do pretty much anything, but everyone else is living in the "real world" and the cartoon antics lead to grotesque violence rather than slapstick. Bit of a horror comedy thing.
Sadly, the violence was completely toned down after the movie came out, and what we have left is a mischief maker of a character, who simply isn't funny or interesting enough to carry the stories. Some of the people who end up wearing the mask are interesting, but the stakes are so low since the mask just causes general chaos rather than horrendous bloodbaths. Slapstick instead of grotesque.
Also, I'm glad they stopped focusing too much on the three main characters in the first few arcs and made them more side-characters, but I wish it was Kathy chosen to be the primary side-character instead of Kellaway. She's much more interesting. Kellaway is a typical comic cop.
The comic starts to go back to its violent origins towards the end of the run (starting with the Night of Return of the Living Ipkiss one-shot), but then the series ends just after it starts getting interesting again (well, there was another arc 20 years later, but we'll ignore that for this review).
So, the first Omnibus is about half interesting stories, and half meh ones. The second Omnibus is like 80% meh and 20% good stuff. Not a great ratio.
Sadly, the violence was completely toned down after the movie came out, and what we have left is a mischief maker of a character, who simply isn't funny or interesting enough to carry the stories. Some of the people who end up wearing the mask are interesting, but the stakes are so low since the mask just causes general chaos rather than horrendous bloodbaths. Slapstick instead of grotesque.
Also, I'm glad they stopped focusing too much on the three main characters in the first few arcs and made them more side-characters, but I wish it was Kathy chosen to be the primary side-character instead of Kellaway. She's much more interesting. Kellaway is a typical comic cop.
The comic starts to go back to its violent origins towards the end of the run (starting with the Night of Return of the Living Ipkiss one-shot), but then the series ends just after it starts getting interesting again (well, there was another arc 20 years later, but we'll ignore that for this review).
So, the first Omnibus is about half interesting stories, and half meh ones. The second Omnibus is like 80% meh and 20% good stuff. Not a great ratio.
August 20, 2023
John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke’s names are on the front cover but their hardly featured in this collection. The duo scripted and illustrated the first three arcs from the first volume and they are The Mask. The only story Arcudi and Mahnke touch in this set is “Night of the Return of the Living Ipkiss…Kinda” which is barely 10 pages long. That said, this volume kicks off with “The Hunt for Green October” and ends with “Toys in the Attic”, the most decent yarns of the bunch. “World Tour” and “Southern Discomfort” are painful to get through. Only real highlight of “World Tour” (which is a crossover romp with a handful of original Dark Horse characters) is seeing Ghost share the page with Big Head. The art style in “Discomfort” is interesting but does really work for the Mask in my opinion. If I ever reread this collection, I’m skipping the middle.
January 28, 2025
4.5/5 stars but only a minuscule deducted rating because of a technicality. I finally have my hands on this omnibus and it was well worth the wait! While the first omnibus has “The Mask Returns” which is my favorite in the series, this collection does have “Hunt for Green October” and “Toys in the Attic” which are also spectacular. The half point reduction is due to “World Tour” which is just confusing and painful to get through if you don’t know the other dark horse characters. There are many tone fluctuations in this collection as well, as some issues are far more gory and graphic than others. Despite the one stinker in this collection, it’s still sooo worth the read and a spot on my bookshelf.
October 16, 2019
It turns out that "The Mask" is a bit much at its best, and a bit too much at anything but. My deep dive into graphic novels and comics I have only fleeting youthful memories of has confirmed that so much of the Bighead's charm comes from being used sparingly- or, in the case of the movie, being tethered to the intense, almost obsessive charm of then-rising-star Jim Carrey. On its own, as an entity hopping from body to body, Bighead isn't much more fun than second-tier Deadpool.
HOWEVER. The first story here, with a widower and his daughter falling under Bighead's thrall, might be the best Mask story of them all. Unfortunately it's all downhill from there...
HOWEVER. The first story here, with a widower and his daughter falling under Bighead's thrall, might be the best Mask story of them all. Unfortunately it's all downhill from there...
April 21, 2020
This one was not as good as the first one unfortunately.
The first story arc "Hunt for the Green October" was great! Probably the third best Mask story-line in my opinion. I enjoyed the expanded lore to where the mask came from. This story-line was notable for me because it brought back the more disturbing and violent content from the original Mask comics.
The second arc "World Tour" was kinda boring for me. I am not an avid Dark Horse comics reader (the old Star Wars titles being my only other reads) so the crossovers in this arc didn't interest me.
One story line featured a strangely realistic art style and took place in the Louisiana Bayou. I wasn't a fan of this story line or the art direction.
The zombie Ipkiss story was alright.
The Shakespeare serial killer story was probably the second best storyline in this collection, as it also hearkened back to the classic stories.
Overall, the first omnibus is better, but there are some good story-lines in here.
Read if you like:
- the first omnibus
- Halloween comics
- Dark Horse comic book franchises
- Shakespeare murder mysteries
The first story arc "Hunt for the Green October" was great! Probably the third best Mask story-line in my opinion. I enjoyed the expanded lore to where the mask came from. This story-line was notable for me because it brought back the more disturbing and violent content from the original Mask comics.
The second arc "World Tour" was kinda boring for me. I am not an avid Dark Horse comics reader (the old Star Wars titles being my only other reads) so the crossovers in this arc didn't interest me.
One story line featured a strangely realistic art style and took place in the Louisiana Bayou. I wasn't a fan of this story line or the art direction.
The zombie Ipkiss story was alright.
The Shakespeare serial killer story was probably the second best storyline in this collection, as it also hearkened back to the classic stories.
Overall, the first omnibus is better, but there are some good story-lines in here.
Read if you like:
- the first omnibus
- Halloween comics
- Dark Horse comic book franchises
- Shakespeare murder mysteries
January 24, 2023
The second omnibus is more of the the same for The Mask. Except this time around the stories are more focused and The Mask retains the abilities it acquired with the movie and seems just a touch more influenced by its wearer.
It’s still a lot of over the top violence as if a homicidal cartoon character was let loose in the real world though. While that certainly won’t work for some, it works for me and I found the stories entertaining. I’m not sure this is something I’d suggest to pretty much anybody other than people who are already interested in The Mask and its actual origins outside of the Jim Carrey movie.
It’s still a lot of over the top violence as if a homicidal cartoon character was let loose in the real world though. While that certainly won’t work for some, it works for me and I found the stories entertaining. I’m not sure this is something I’d suggest to pretty much anybody other than people who are already interested in The Mask and its actual origins outside of the Jim Carrey movie.
May 15, 2020
Not as good as the first... found the Dark Horse Universe story to go on for far too long, though that might be because I only knew one of the characters that appeared in it and only found one other side character interesting... though not enough to actually read anything with them, or remember their name without looking.
April 26, 2020
The beginning was a bit jumbled and confusing. I felt like it was randomly thrown together. After a while it finally found its footing. The last story is the best. I wasnt as in love with these illustrations.
November 20, 2024
Not as good as the first volume
Redeemed by the last and (to a lesser extent) first stories of the collection. The others are sub-par.
Overall, this Mask is a much wilder creature than the movie or the cartoon! LOVE IT
Redeemed by the last and (to a lesser extent) first stories of the collection. The others are sub-par.
Overall, this Mask is a much wilder creature than the movie or the cartoon! LOVE IT
July 1, 2025
Completely devoid of the “magic” the original run had. The Night of the Living Ipkiss was the only one I actually enjoyed and that was like 5 pages. It’s really impressive to make a chaotic character like Bighead boring.
August 28, 2018
The final story was a tiny bit interesting but overall it was a huge mess.
March 29, 2021
I’ll give it between a 3 and 4. Overall some good stories, but some were weaker or had some jarring aspects.
November 21, 2021
Weak sauce. Visually good, story wise not so much. I feel the first omnibus was much better read.
July 19, 2022
I liked it my favorite story was the hunt for green October it is the first part you read
December 26, 2023
Uneven but intermittently good.
January 27, 2025
That concept ran out of steam real quick.
February 6, 2025
This series has never reached its full potential.
August 20, 2025
While the art quality didn't decline, the story sure did. The same old tropes but it all felt so tired.
November 15, 2025
A mixture of fun and creative stories interrupted by dull and forgetting ones.
December 7, 2015
A big bag of meh. Arcudi and Mahnke 5ever!
August 9, 2016
Este libro deja atrás la violencia del primero. Tiene historias no tan buenas como el primero pero el humor sigue siendo igual de bueno.
December 20, 2023
Wildly inconsistent
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews