American Gothic Press 2016
Written by Philip Kim & Ben Meares
Illustrated by Nat Jones
Lettered by April Brown
Korbin and his entourage of gill men have been saved from a Kraken attack by none other than Avery, David, and Keeney the Franken-werewolf! But how do Avery and Keeney know the same melody that always calms Keeney down from a rage?
There’s something amazing about this world of monsters. Humans are the minority and a rare commodity as we’ve seen. Yet somehow they continue to seemingly be the solution to the problems that arise. Well that and some are just batshit crazy as we’re seeing here. The fact that these fantastic creatures have come into the light and prominence opens up a realm of possibilities we’re only beginning to see. I like that they’ve been expanding the mythology here and this issue takes that a step farther.
While the Gill Men have been introduced they aren’t the only denizens of the deep on this world as we learn and thanks to them Avery, David and Keeney (from the first series) join the fray this issue. Also the ongoing thing between Korbin and Lorren continues and I have to admit that I like this dynamic the two of them have. Lorren is pretty batshit crazy and unapologetically so and it’s just fun to see.
As all the groups are together and a conflict on the verge of becoming out of control there is a new threat that emerges. Literally right out of the water. An old god long thought a myth or lost to annuls of time. It’s a nice way to bring this old god into the story really and keep expanding this universe. This adds another horror dimension to the series and if this old god is enough to frighten the creatures that have given us nightmares for generations then you know things are about to get even worse.
Sigh Lorren, the characterisation here is utterly spectacular. I very much enjoyed seeing how he reacted to this and how that leads us to see exactly what can be in store for this world if those that have assembled, Korbin et al, cannot find a way to stop it. The way this story is structured is so nice to see as the reveals and the ideas and just how things come together feel so natural. While I don’t believe in coincidences it’s a good word to describe how Avery, David and Keeney got involved and why.
Nat’s work on this book is so stellar. The whole darker tones really bring the idea of this world to life for us. That he gets to stretch that imagination and creativity to bring us some of what we see is beyond delightful. His use of page layouts through angles and perspective are amazingly well done. That final image he leaves us with this issue is a climax unto itself what a sight to behold.
Just when you think that people are the scariest thing out there we get to be reminded that there are ancient things that are much worse. It’s great to have that feeling of being afraid of what lurks in the dark again.