Scout Comics 2019
Created & Written by Alexander Banchitta
Created & Illustrated by Robert Ahmad
Lettered by Fred C. Stresing
Salem, Massachusetts: 1987. Two teenagers have been found dead, brutally murdered, but not by a man. When gruesome murders become a common occurrence in this sleepy town it is evident that the Headless Horseman has returned! Two brothers, having recently arrived in Salem, find themselves in a centuries-old battle between the Knights Templar (whose task it is to banish all magic from Salem) and the Headless Horseman, the one originally responsible for turning the women of Salem into witches. All Hell breaks loose when the brothers discover they are closer to his true identity than they realise...
Well the opening page here is certainly one I am not going to forget anytime soon that's for damn sure. It is a sensational way to open a book let alone a series and set the tone for what's to come. That leads us into the meeting what I think of as the rest of the police force for this part of Salem or all of Salem. The writing here is really nicely done and how we see the dialogue and characterisation straight away tells us that these aren't honest folks and at least one is that stereotypical cop who needs to go away. Entitled and with some modicum of power this one needs to be a victim Knight or not, just the fact that we feel, okay I feel, this strongly about him is because of the incredible amount of characterisation that we see and I might not be familiar with his work but Alexander just landed firmly on my radar.
The way this story is being is pretty damn good. The ebb & flow created by the way we see the story & plot development and the character development as they become united and separate throughout the story as the pacing takes us ever onward is fun. The only issue I have is when that demon appears, that comes out of the blue here and feels like it's just stuck there and I would have liked to see where the introduction was made. It is the only thing here that feels even slightly out of whack with the rest of the book.
Robert is something of a revelation as well. I love that Scout finds us new creators who have what it takes to be rising stars in the industry. Normally I wouldn't gravitate towards this work and after perusing his Instagram account the man has some serious skills and a very signature style. I do rather like how he is able to utilise the varying weights of the linework to create this attention to detail that we see. Also I am extremely impressed with the way we see the composition inside the panels and how depth perception is done utilising the foreground and backgrounds. Speaking of the background I have to say that they enhance the moments and bring a nice sense of size and scope to book beautifully. The colour work here is gorgeous and this blue and white that permeates the book is almost mesmerising I how we see them used. Also these splotches of colour just enhance everything including the Gremlin.
This story doesn't waste any time. I mean we see the introduction of the main characters, we get to see who the Knights are and what jobs they have, which by the way is the perfect position for them to hold, and the idea of who the Headless Horseman is supposed to be. The pacing is incredible and the fact that the reader becomes engaged in the story and invested in such a short amount of time is a testament to how well this book is done from top to bottom, side tot side. This my friends is why Scout needs to be in your local shop and in your pull lists.