This week’s main review is Séance in the Asylum #1, another season of horror releases. add, The Wednesday Comics team typically lists new #1 comics, finales, and other noteworthy issues from non-Big 2 publishers, all of which you can find below…enjoy!
Séance at Sanctuary #1
writer: Clay McLeod Chapman
artist: Leonardo Marcelo Grassi
Colorist: Mauro Gurma
Writer: Frank Cvetkovic
Publisher: dark horse comics
October, the greatest month of the year for horror fans, has really begun, and this is a comic I’ve been looking forward to since it was announced. superstar horror novelist Clay McLeod Chapman (Whispers in the alley) is making his creator-owned comic debut dark horse comics. Set in 1865, the show tells the story of a clairvoyant deceiver named Alicia Witkinson, who is given a second chance at a career – and must enter a mental hospital and be “leaked out” The patient’s mental illness.
Novelists who start out writing comics often fall into the undesirable tendency of being too prose-driven or narrative-heavy. That’s not the case here. McLeod Chapman writes this as if it were second nature to him. It was a very confident, confident debut. The storyline is quite rich, but it doesn’t feel tight. The dialogue is snappy and focused, as is the narration. Alicia is a wonderful character, a flawed but interesting protagonist. She was indeed a liar as people accused her of being, but in her situation the patient really acted as if he was possessed. I’m 100% on board with this book because there are so many narrative conflicts and I’m sure the creative team will deliver on that promise.
Artwork by Leonardo Marcelo Grassi Shocking. His rough, line-heavy style reminds me of the classic Vertigo comic books, and is perfect for a book like this. He’s great at emphasizing the horrific, haunting moments in the story and managing to make each character stand out in a setting and time period where most characters are wearing similar clothing. Color work by Mauro Gurma Brilliantly complimenting Grassi’s artwork, these two pieces jump off the page and become one of the best parts of an already great book. The cover of the book was also designed by the artist Andrea Mutiunforgettably beautiful.
If I have one flaw with this book, it’s a minor flaw at best— Frank CvetkovicThe letters are great throughout, but he does use an unclear “handwritten” font for some of the narration, which can be difficult to read. Sadly, there’s a reason the style is no longer used in comics, although I get its narrative intent here. The book is quite intense, and his letters often help convey the important messages needed so that the story can fully unfurl and unfold by the end of the issue.
But overall, Séance at Sanctuary It’s thrilling, funny and scary. It has its own unique identity, which is not common in this day and age, and is becoming a must-read horror comic for me. Clay McLeod Chapman’s comic book debut was a huge success and I can’t wait to see what else he does next. The rest of the creative team on this book really shines, making this a compelling and essential horror read for this year’s horror season.
Wednesday Comics Review
Day of the Dead Girl #1 (Magma Comics): A vibrant first issue full of color and style, full of art Belen Culebras and color by Dear Kelly, day of the dead girl An introduction to the interesting mother-daughter dynamic and the meaning of Day of the Dead (day of the dead) In the first few pages, Anna and her daughter Sam repeatedly speak of the importance of this holiday and their respective reverence for it. Sam is resentful, which makes sense after discovering why, and even though Anna has been having a hard time lately, you can see the tension and feeling in both characters, heightened by the sharp dialogue and writing. AJ Mendes and Amy Garcia with letters Sean Lee. There’s a strong sense of back and forth, and then there’s an interesting tonal shift from the energy of Dia De Los Muertos to a more sinister and elevated reality, using the supernatural to further deepen the divide between Anna (the witch) and Sam’s refusal to participate in the brujeria’s activities . The push and pull are so clear, which makes the final pages a powerful closing note that sets the stage for what’s to come. —Khalid Johnson-
Murder Kingdom #1 (Crazy Cave Studios): What if the “happiest place on earth” turned out to be ground zero for a storybook-themed serial killer? This is the question asked in the first issue murder kingdom as written Fred Van Lent. With hints of workers’ rights, unsympathetic corporate overlords and an ungrateful and ignorant public, the mystery has a long way to go before it reaches its happy ending. colorful art Crispanda It highlights the glitz and glamor of such large theme parks, while showing that the golden roads trodden by visitors are nothing more than cheap paint. with letters Becca Kelly Featuring the victim’s final screams and all the other sounds found in the theme park, this issue leaves the Princess Detective with quite a mystery to solve. —Brian Rehair 
Slasher Night #1 (Magma Comics): although Night of the Slasher While the premise is familiar enough, and its scope paints an enjoyable run for the series, the book may have relied too heavily on one major conceptual twist. writer Calvin Scott may have created an unsavory character who got her comeuppance quickly, but starting the series on page one with a woman murdered for sneaking out for a hookup feels like a relic of a bygone era of horror. The page-turning jump scares lack atmosphere, as the visual rhythms are interrupted by panel-clogging expository dialogue, and the book feels a little tepid for its own genre conventions. certainly, Paul Fry Teenage archetypes are drawn with aplomb, but with such uniformly sized informalist panels, there are plenty of narrative tools that go unused to convey this story [spacing, scale, contrast, etc]so the rest of our conversation is mostly about advancing the story. The first big jump scare is a palette retreat rather than the sudden contrast palette swap trick we’ve seen before, but it still achieves the desired effect by revealing so much information before the page turns. I love horror comics, but that’s only the middle years…and unfortunately, the middle years are a hard sell in today’s comics market. —Beau Q.
Toxic Avenger #1 (Ah Hoy Comics): artist fred harper Already doing a lot of underrated work for AHOY Comics, including publisher work wrong earth The comic is mainly an alternative and absolutely excellent stand-up comedy cultural satire. Snelson: Comedy is dying. Now, AHOY has cast Harper in a new series Toxic Avenger, where he is rendered to perfection Lee Loveridge As he explains the concise and clever script Matt Bolsthe letters are Rob Steen. This book is a nice little read that’s easy to follow for new readers while still respecting the series’ past (can you believe The Toxic Avenger is 40 years old this year?!). But after reading it, all I kept thinking about was art. This is the star of the show’s first page, a raunchy (and free) close-up of our protagonist. Don’t miss it. —Zach Quentins
progress report
AD 2403 2000 (Rebel Publishing): A new Judge Dredd story begins this week Judge Dredd: The Hater from writer No one knows, artist Silvia Califano, colorist Julia Brusco, and engraver Anne Parkhouse. This is the continuation of one of the most popular SWAT stories of all time, Apocalypse War. The story seems interested in showing that there are no winners in wars and that the damage done to societies and their people by violent conflict can spread like cobwebs from generation to generation, harming us all for decades to come. This is a very ambitious field. as we all know Apocalypse War They do a great job of orienting readers who haven’t read the book in years, grounding the flashback sequences in the experiences of the sympathetic protagonist. Also, without spoiling anything, the end of the first chapter is a very interesting splash page. In short, I’m very much here. As always, you can get a digital copy of this week’s Avant-garde here. —Zach Quentins
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