American Mythology Productions 2017
Written by James Kuhoric
Illustrated by Andrew Mangum
Coloured by Gene
Lettered by Natalie Jane
Come with us back to Honey Island Swamp for a brand-new tale of horror at the hands of Victor Crowley. It's 1983 and a group of college kids with aspirations of creating the next blockbuster horror franchise set out to find the place where New Orleans most notorious boogeyman lived. Victor Crowley waits for those foolish enough to enter his swamp and disturb his nightmare cycle. This is old school horror returned to comics with Adam Green's vision of rage and terror unleashed on the comics' page.
There's a very large part of me that absolutely adores this homage to the 1980's slasher horror boom. What James does here is actually kind of brilliant as he both takes this seriously and mocks it simultaneously. If you are a fan of horror and the slasher film franchises that came out of that 80's boom period you are going to love this. To be brutally honest I've seen B-Movies that weren't as well done as this story already is.
So, if you missed the zero issue of this one don't fret, I'm sure your Shoppe or subscription service can find it for you, you can easily jump into this with issue one. As it is new reader friendly though you miss the backstory on how Hatchet comes to be but that's okay in a story like this you don't really need to know the origin of the psycho killer you just need to enjoy it. Trust me on this one you WILL enjoy this too it has the absolute best blend of horror and 80's tropes around.
James also does an excellent job here of putting a story inside the story and making them weave into one. The idea that a group of college kids need to come up with the next big idea for a horror movie as a class project fits into the whole legend being presented here. This adds a whole new depth to the story that most in the genre either haven't thought of or ignore but really does make the story deeper and more interesting.
Oh Andrew what an amazing talent you are as is evident here by so many different things. From the attention to detail that we see which spares no expense in bringing these characters to life. They are expressive and full that zest and verve that are needed to convey meaning and emotions. His use of page layouts through their angles and perspective help the flow of the story run smoothly. Then there's the utilisation of backgrounds, yes, I wish every panel had them but apparently that's asking too much in this day and age, still Andrew uses them quite often and they really expand the way we see things. While he can use a little work on making the characters feel like they are in motion instead feeling like pin-ups but it's still fun to see!
Personally, I'm a huge fan of what the guys and gal are doing here. The way that the story is structured and how it flows is darn near perfect. Along with the characterisation and plot development that we are seeing this makes me want to go back to the eighties and see this be done for real. Although I guess it would be fun to see it made now and make it look retro and that kind of cheesy fun. Thankfully we also aren't being treated to seeing how Hatchet feels or his point of view or whatever he's here strictly as a mass murdering psycho who probably doesn't die and will live on for seemingly forever wreaking havoc on unsuspecting tourists and locals alike.
Sometimes all it takes to make people happy is a well-executed vision come to life.