Ice Cream Man, Volume 8: Subjects & Objects

Ice Cream Man

by W. Maxwell Prince, Martín Morazzo, Chris O'Halloran

Open wide for four more scoops of the bestselling, critically acclaimed, psycho-horror comic ICE CREAM MAN. Here, bound with medium-grade paper glue, are four tales of objective subjectivity: a man's last wishes are carried out; a controlled experiment loses all control; a cosmic scale is balanced (in verse!); Doug tries his darndest to get clean. It's another assemblage of anguish and ennui for the anthologically-inclined art appreciator. Lickety split, y'all!

Collects ICE CREAM MAN #29-32

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Short Stories, Comic Book

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2022

About the author

W. Maxwell Prince writes in Brooklyn and lives with his wife, daughter, and two cats called Mischief and Mayhem. He is the author of One Week in the Library, The Electric Sublime, and Judas: The Last Days. When not writing, he tries to render all of human experience in chart form.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The eighth volume of Ice Cream Man stories, subtitled Subjects & Objects, and Neither W. Maxwell Prince nor Martin Morazzo (nor even colorist Chris O'Halloran) never disappointed. The Ice Cream Man is an iconic, smiling demon in bright happy colors. In every issue they try a different way to approach stories--different genres, different approaches, and increasingly, they are going deeper, more philosophical, and more dealing with real every day horror psychological and horror issues. Very, very smart, these boys are. Early on, they seemed to be going for the punchline, entertainment, primarily (though I may be wrong about that, I may have misread their ultimate goal), but many issues they deal with here on philosophically and sociologically interesting.

The epigraph for this volume is from George Saunders guide to writing short stories, A Swim in the Pond in the Rain: "A story is not like real life. It's like a table with just a few things on it. The 'meaning' of the table is made by the choice of things and their relation to one another."

#29: "Living Will involves a corpse and a squid and a fox carnival barker; it's not SO memorable.
#30: "Experimental Storytelling" takes place in a psych facility, a drug test where one guy gets the placebo, and the other guy gets. .. monsters and madness

#30: "A Scale: A sort of Poem" sort of rhymes

#31: "A Prelude to Chapter 32 deals with Semiotics (and addiction)

#32: "Recovery" is about a man named Parsons in detox for addiction. Maybe in part because I have several people I know and love in various stages of the horror of addiction and recovery, I was moved by this one, especially as I saw myself in the wife and daughter, in anguish. Reveals just how difficult it is to get clean. . . though especially if as you drive back home the driver is the disguised Ice Cream Man. Lotsa luck, Parsons.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I swear to God, W. Maxwell Prince's horror series Ice Cream Man, with every issue, proves that real life can be as frightening and more horrific than anything that the cosmos can throw at us. Damn...

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

More comics need to be like this, I love the anthology style of each issue just tackling a different, sometimes wildly different story. The consistency is outrageous. There's not really a bad comic in this series.

If you're into twilight zone style stories, you have to check out this series. I hope it goes on forever.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series more than most things.

That’s it. That’s the review.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
As always, there is a variety of quality within these stories. The best was easily the middle stories about the psychedelics, which was so trippy. The last story was just really sad.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Addiction defined (one type anyway).

When you have just spent a perfect day with some loved ones...you feel great....and happy and all that..
Then you get home..
And..
You wanna feel better.....

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great volume of a very good series. The sincerity of this volume is a little deeper and it works really well. This series has a way of really tapping into the depths of fear and anxiety, in a totally effective way. The surrealistic horror is still there, but more complimentary than focal. It all still works insanely well for one of my favorite volumes so far.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ice Cream Man is always iffy because sometimes get great stuff, sometimes not so great. This one is split.

The first two stories are just okay. The first story is interesting enough, thinking what happens when we die and who gets what, but feels like it misses the landing. The second story is honestly boring and I didn't give a shit about anyone.

But the final two stories are strong. One is about the greatest and most unbeatable foe of all humanity. Death. And we basically live through two characters and their lives, and see the struggles and hardships and the wonderful moments too. A touching story really even with death looming over us all.

The last story is about a drug addict trying to do better but most people, even his own wife, doubt it. Only him and his daughter have some hope, but is that enough to get through it all?

Ice Cream Man can be amazing, but not always. And this is a good example of two okay stories, and two great ones, making the entire volume just good. But overall worth the read! A 3 out of 5.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sobering reflection on addiction, depression, mortality, and all those other uplifting themes we come to these colourful funny books to enjoy.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is always creepy! The short story form reminds me so much of Junji Ito's writing and has the advantage of being so vibrant with color as well. Really hope this book continues on. (NOTE: Would love a bit more connection between the stories other than the Easter Eggs, but that's just me.)

Highlights:
Living Will - A story that crosses between the reading of a Dead Man's Will, and his friend mourning his loss..... but with a semi-psychedelic carnival and exploration of memory.
Experimental Storytelling - A tale of patients taking experimental drug Neuramaze... but which people are the real patients?
A Scale - A long form poem about a man raising his daughter, then switching to the daughter's POV as the Dad dies.
Recovery - The fall and rise of a man in rehab for drugs. Written well, we never really know if he's going to make it.

I might considering owning all the collections of this.
Strong recommend.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Including an unconventional eulogy, a maze of a drug trial, and a bittersweet meditation on addiction and recovery, Ice Cream Man continues to surprise with its meta and cross-genre experimental storytelling, as well as its sad, nihilistic, hopeful, disturbing, funny, humane mélange of loosely connected issues. It remains utterly fascinating, with each new volume finding fresh territory to explore. What began as a horror anthology continues to grow with each surreal revelation.

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 2 out of 5]

"How does that make you feel?"
This was ok, there seems to be lots of connections now, between the issues, so I am not sure if they are planning to wrap it all up soon, or they finally have a big vision? I do like when there are call backs and the sense of an over arching story, but there was alot in this, and it didnt feel in keeping with the previous volumes...

[Benji Glaab · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Though I thought the back issue was strong this volume was considerably less brilliant than the usual standard Prince and Murazzo have set in previous collections. This is still a favourite series of mine. Maybe the first warm weekend of sunshine on the Wetcoast was a bad choice to enjoy this one.

[Robbie McPhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 8th volume did not disappoint. I have loved each and every collection in this series and I will explain why. These books are not just "horror." I love how every story/page deals with life's deepest questions and themes and are so relatable to the world we live in. To me, they are deep philosophic tales sprinkled with elements of horror. That is what makes me love it so much. And it is the combination of the words and the art that tell the stories so well. Martin Morazzo is such a talented artist! He has the rare gift to be able to tell stories and convey characters' deepest thoughts with the flick of a pencil. And the Ice Cream Man himself in all his incarnations is simply iconic and drives each story. It's incredible! I was so moved by the story about the girl and her dad and I cried when she was at his hospital bed. It was so relatable and everything was so true about the nature of life and time. Thank you for this amazing collection!

[Renato · Rating 5 out of 5]

The antepenultimate volume in this limited series changes gears on the organs these stories choose to zap: we shift from the amygdala (fear) to the heart (sadness).

Normally, I think I would be annoyed at such a shifting in intent, but the stories are too adept at pulling at the heart strings that forgiveness for this transgression is surely in the cards.

As for the meta-story feel: while Riccardus and his ilk are not overtly present, the callbacks to his hijinks in other stories is hitting a critical mass. We now live in a universe fully invaded by the Ice Cream Man, even if we do not hear the jingle.

The stories in this anthology volume are as follows:

Living Will
This one was the least favourite of the bunch - essentially the reading of Will's will to the executors, while a friend of his somehow enters the trippy staged version of the will in the form of a carnaval.

Experimental Storytelling
Two test subjects partake in a drug study involving a capsulated form of Lilium Riccardus (Nepalese Rainbow Flower). Participants believe they are NOT in the 'treatment group' - but are they really?

A Scale (sort of a poem)
How the title is connected to the story is beyond me, but this is the story of Warren Williamson (the eventual author of The Etymologist Ascents from the previous volume) and how the choruses and refrains of his life gets eventially played again by his daughter.

Prelude : Semiotics for Missing Persons & Recovery
Two vignetted about a man (Doug) going through the full cycle of detox and emotional rebound in a rehab center, each page representing a day during the detox.

"Years ago. Me, Ginny, and Mary had just had this wonderful day. Picture Perfect: a walk in the park, ice cream cones, belly laughs all the way home. I was so...happy.

We get back to the house, and my first thought is: But what if I could be HAPPIER?"

[BookCupid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ice Cream Man rarely disappoints. There will always be a few dull stories that lead nowhere but that is normal in a short story compilation.

Out of all the short stories, the experiment was my favorite one. Mostly because I didn't see that end coming.

[Valéria. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, this was a strong volume with interesting, creepy stories.

[Peter Hollo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure there's a bad issue of Ice Cream Man at all, but the ones collected in Volume 8 are among the best. A couple of nicely creepy ones, but even then, Chapter 29 is a rather lovely presentation of the living will of our Will Parsons, rather badly treated by Riccardus in an earlier issue.

But it's 31 & 32 that are the gems. Chapter 31, titled "A Scale (Sort of a Poem)" is a beautifully symmetrical telling of a life's connections (and failed connections), of intergenerational love, and the artistry of the telling makes it all the more touching. While Riccardus the Ice Cream Man does feature, this story, along with Chapters 29 and 32, is grounded in his brother & opposite Caleb's axioms that "everything is one thing". The interconnectedness is demonstrated within the story - the fishing and the caring for fish comes to mind - but this chapter is one of the most intertextual within the Ice Cream Man canon too, with numerous callbacks to other chapters.
And that's another clever thing about this story: the contradictions. It's beautifully self-contained, mirroring itself all the way through to the "Oh my God" on the first and last pages, but it's so intertwined with the rest of Ice Cream Man that practically everything is a reference. It's a story about connection and love, but it's about two loners. And heck, it's a heartfelt, sincere story built from the elements of creepy, often nihilistic material.

And if that intertextuality is the only thing that would make me hesitate to show Chapter 31 to friends who don't know, or wouldn't care for, Ice Cream Man, Chapter 32 does a similar trick, but is perhaps even more self-contained. In fact it's the one issue of Ice Cream Man I bought separately, after reading a few pages in the comics store. It's a story of a guy going into rehab and... getting better. When I found it on the shelf it felt very much unexpected, and is probably what prompted me to take the series seriously and get caught up on the collections.
Oh, and if you need clarification about the intertextuality, the intro to Chapter 32 makes it all very explicit, semiotically... including a sweet reference to the Covid pandemic that was in full swing when it was created. There's also a pretty big reference in there, that Doug is, but also isn't, the author - because our Billy Prince just can't help himself, right?

There's nothing new under the sun, but with Ice Cream Man I do think W. Maxwell Prince, along with the sterling artist Martín Morazzo and excellent colorist Chris O'Halloran, has created something rare, rich and unexpectedly different with this anthology.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ice Cream Man returns for another four insane adventures. There's less of a cohesive thread through these four, but they're still just as innovative and compelling as before.

Issue 31 sticks out as a favourite here, telling the same story from two different perspectives that switch mid-way through to create essentially the comic version of a pallindrome. Also, it rhymes, so that's always good. Issue 30 links back to a previous story involving drug trials, while the slow decay of Doug's mind in issue 32 is dreadful, and yet you can't tear your eyes away.

I love that even 30 odd issues in, Ice Cream Man can still do things with comics that I haven't seen before, and do them well while being equally as intriguing and gross. Horror at its best.

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know how we somehow balanced a poignant story of addiction and recovery while also have stories of psychoactive drug monsters and stories of aging, but here we are. I don’t know if it’s because we are so far in but the gimmicks are really working. Like what you would first expect are gimmicks are actually well thought out plot threads getting pulled through an entire trade paperback and you really have to pay attention to realize. I love the creepy bits. I love the poignant bits. I’m just really glad that we’ve found away to make this series really thrive. Like at this point you don’t even have to get back to the explanation of who the Ice Cream Man is, I’m just really liking the direction it’s going.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Individual issue reviews: #29 | #30 | #31 | #32

Total review score: 3

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reprints Ice Cream Man #29-32 and Image 30th Anniversary Anthology #3 (April 2022-September 2022).  Loss and life are explored as Corey says goodbye to his friend William Parson.  A scientist tests an experimental drug called Neuramaze but discovers he might be caught up in his own controlled test.  Warren Williamson welcomes a child name Blossom into his life as Blossom watches her father age as she grows.  Doug Metsker is placed in rehab and battles the demons within him.

Written by W. Maxwell Prince, Ice Cream Man Volume 8:  Subjects & Objects is an Image Comics anthology series.  Following Ice Cream Man Volume 7:  Certain Descents, the collection features art by Martin Morazzo and a short story originally collected in Image 30th Anniversary Anthology #3 (May 2022) which serves as a prequel to Ice Cream Man #32 (September 2022).

I love Ice Cream Man.  The style of the writing, the uniqueness of each issue, and the interlocking nature of the comics makes it a comic worth reading…and continuing to read.  Ice Cream Man Volume 8:  Subjects & Objects is no different in that sense.

Sometimes you run into a weak issue of an anthology, and Ice Cream Man has suffered from that on occasion.  This entry has four stories that are solid and there is no weak entry.  All of them provide a different style of storytelling, and they are both absurdity and touching…often at the same time.  It deals with some real issues like addiction and death, but it also plays with how those issues are dealt with.

The series also continues to have the strange world being built by Prince.  The characters in this volume appear in other stories and Prince often has enough forethought to set-up future stories.  It becomes a puzzle that doesn’t entirely make sense (like the Ice Cream Man #31 which technically jumps all over in time but is primarily based in present day), but it does make sense in the context of Ice Cream Man.

The story is also aided by the eerie art by Martin Morazzo.  It feels a bit like Lapham’s Stray Bullets in that there is a basic nature to the art, but also a surreal look as it dips in and out of dreams and visions.  Morazzo also has a lot of fun inserting previous issues into current issues, and it would be interesting to hear how Morazzo and Prince work together on this.

Ice Cream Man 8:  Subjects & Objects is another good entry into a good series.  What started out as one of my bright points in COVID has turned into one of my favorite books.  While I do support the purchase of individual issues, I think Ice Cream Man is better served as a whole rather than each issue…but feel free to take it one scoop at a time.

[Kayla Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be one of the more enjoyable volumes in this series. It is typical for the collection of stories in each volume to have some hits and some misses and I feel like this volume had more successful entries for me.

My absolute favorite in this volume was "Experimental Storytelling". That is a very trippy story involving people signing up for participation in an experimental drug trial and all the things that go wrong. There was a great twist in that story and it really delved deep into the horror elements that can be so well done in this series.

I also really enjoyed "A Scale". It was on the other end of the spectrum of stories that are typical in this series. I feel like usually the stories lean either into horror, weirdness, or emotional and this one was definitely one of the emotional ones. It tugged at my heart strings so intensely. It is a story that will really hit home for people who are close to their parents, fathers in particular, and will maybe draw a tear or two.

The other stories in this volume were still fine. I found this whole collection enjoyable but those were definitely the standouts for me.

[Justin Partridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

“How does that make you feel?”

////

“I’m SERIOUS. I’m building a house around my mind, and you’re not invited inside.”

Perhaps our most formalist arc so far, but still just fantastic stuff from start to stop.

Again, the way Prince and company weave in motifs and characters and elements of the previous issues throughout the new stories. I truly cannot think of a book that not only does that but does it THIS well. Every single time it does a callback it just charges up the whole issue.

And the issues themselves! Really good still! We’ve got a drug trial that goes nuts, an ICM wake, the verse issue which is just devastating, and then we round off with a tale of attempted sobriety.

Sincerely, I don’t know how this book continues to be this good, this disparate, and this totally focused on its own thing. I hope it runs forever.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subjectively and objectively, this is dark. Very dark. The nightmares in this collection involve a crappy inheritance after a life pithily summarized, a psychological experiment got awry, a kinda sorta poem, and a tale of a man trying to beat an addiction.
Love the nods and interconnectedness of the comics. As always, original, starkly depressing, uniformly bleak. These are the comic books that’ll leave you jonesing for sunshine and rainbows, but they’ll also make you contemplate life as its most realistically dark. And books ought to make the reader think.
I only with the art was as diverse and skilled as the storytelling, because eight volumes in, all the long faces look alike. But can’t have it all, presumably.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these are better than others. Some of the stories seem to lack a point. I do like how threads from an earlier story will find their way into another, later one (like the drug being studied in issue 2 showing up again in issue 4, or the novelist's book about the etymologist making an appearance in issue 4). The artwork continues to be very consistent--how many comics can claim that. That said, I'm starting to wonder just a little about the law of diminishing returns regarding this title...

[Litwithlove · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. The ICM series continues to keep me interested in the interconnected worlds and lives that our antagonist is Hell bent on interfering with. Without fail, there is always at least one story that truly upsets or scares me. That one guaranteed really good story, and the throughlines and bigger picture are what keeps me reading volume after volume of this series. And side note, I feel like the art just keeps getting more and more uncanny valley and its super creepy. I like it.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the series progresses it seems to want to build a long form narrative of hope not in spite of horror, but because of it, of realizing that the preciousness of life, love and existence are born out of the tenuous and precarious nature of our connections and what we make. It's still creepy as shit, but the interlocking stories are fascinating, and the scary elements have become more grounded and maybe scarier for it.

Not sure now much of this is left, but I'm in for the ride.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminds me so much of the animated show The Shivering Truth- it’s gross and dark and a little funny.

Living Will- cool idea - a worthless carnival

Experimental drug story is one of the best from this series - how does that make you feel?

Father and famous author gets Parkinson’s and dies- sad, but not evil


Cassandra rehabilitation is just so real- doesn’t feel like a the same darkness/ humor of the rest of series but feels more much sadder