
The Bridgewater Triangle #1
Zenescope Entertainment 2019
Written by Brian Studler
Illustrated by Deivis Goetten
Coloured by Maxflan Araujo
Lettered by Fabio Amelia
Part 1 of 3
Massachusetts locals know that the Bridgewater Triangle is the site of many paranormal occurrences. It is said to be filled with giant snakes, sightings of UFOs, evil and vengeful creatures, even ghostly hauntings. As six college freshmen are soon to find out, some of the legends contained within the borders are anything but…and making it out of the triangle proves to be more difficult than finding your way in.
Well I gotta say this is off to a sensational start. I do hope that the kids we meet here are going to remain throughout the story until any or at least one is left. If each issue is a one and done then I will say that I am disappointed because the way that this one ends suggests that they are still there, alive and well. I will also say that this is the kind of horror while familiar is taken to the extreme within the realm of the Zenescope Universe. Using Keres in such a limited manner was somewhat disappointing to me as if she's going to be the “hostess” she needs to play a larger role but on the other hand that she was just the waitress engaging in conversation was okay. They could've done that on their own but she laid her own twist down so that was cool.
I do like the way that this story is being told. The story & plot development here is fantastic and there is a great natural flow to release of information and introducing us to the concept of the book. This is where the creepy excitement begins to form and it's beautifully done as it introduces any number of possible cryptid creepy's to show up. The character development is just as strong and as we meet these kids we see just how they fit into this their personalities emerge through their interaction with each other and the dialogue we see. The pacing picks all this up and moves the story deceivingly forward. It also is where we see how the twists and turns come into play so that Brian is constantly keep the reader on their toes and draws them in and engages their minds. To go off-script and try to use what you know and insert that into the story is a hell of a gift to have and to be able to so effectively utilised.
The interior artwork here is bloody marvellous. That first page is glorious and it's high time someone brought back the splash page as the opening! The linework is gorgeous and how the varying weights are utilised to create this attention to detail that we see is utterly brilliant. To see this like we do and how it is able to set the mood and tone here is priceless and a lot of this credit should go to Maxflan because the base colour and then the hues and tones within it are utilised to create these amazing shading effects. This is as close to a swamp in a comic that actually feels alive and a place to visit. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this amazing eye for storytelling. I need to commend you both as well for the utilisation of backgrounds in this book, how they enhance the moments, bring a size and scope to the book as well as bring a nice depth perception and scale. The interiors are some of the best around.
While I do not believe in coincidences I do like how they seem to appear here. Where Jeff and Terry find themselves for instance seems convenient but, but I have a feeling that it appeared because of the whole mystery of the Triangle is the real cause. Meant for them to encounter and experience in all it's trope glory. It's beautifully done and I loved every turn of the page here. This is just fun, well fun in the sense of horror geek enjoying the hell out of it fun. Zenescope seems to keep impressing me with all these smart, intelligent and adult storytelling that they've been bringing to the table.