
On Sale June 24, 2020
Source Point Press 2020
By Mick Beyers
The first of a four-issue mature re-imagining of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Warlock Ichabod Crane has come to the women of Sleepy Hollow, to raise up their voices in ecstasy and exaltation, to awaken the Old God that sleeps beneath their feet. And the witch Katrina Van Tassel is the only one that can stop him. She has been pledged to serve the village and protect it from the evils that sleep beneath, yet she finds her charges, and her duty, repulsive. Will she forsake her inheritance and the village she has lived in her whole life to find a kind of happiness, or stay to fight a man who has already won?
I love what I do and in the years I have been fortunate enough to be doing this I have met so many great people who I can consider friends, flirt with unabashedly and know that it isn’t coming from a place besides love & friendship. The guys and gals at Source Point Press are among those and I have been a fan and working with them pretty much since the beginning and I am so proud of these folks like you wouldn’t believe. The talent, commitment and genius behind every facet shines brightly.
This book right here is no exception. I read this and was completely floored by it. Because it was sent blind I had no prior knowledge of the book and to read this and discover what it’s all about and how it’s being told, you cannot help but bow your head in respect. The writing for this is so utterly flawless. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented perfectly. We discover what is happening in Crane’s sphere of influence and quite honestly there is nothing about what we learn that is as fascinating as it is terrifying. The character development that we see has its moments where it’s startling to see. Captivating, engaging and yes even mystifying but much like any train wreck there’s no chance at all of you looking away the pull to know more is far too great. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing what life in this is like we see how everything works together to create the books ebb & flow while highlighting how well it is structured.
I am kind of in love with the interiors as well. Black and white is always a bold medium to work in as it shows any and all flaws so to see it done well is a true treat, regardless if it is a style you wouldn’t normally gravitate towards. When we get our first glimpse at Crane I have to say I was dumbfounded! Everything about him is truly and utterly brilliantly portrayed. I like the different techniques that we see within the linework utilised to create the attention to detail. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a strong eye for storytelling. I am also very much a fan of the utilisation of backgrounds here as they really do wonders to flesh the story out as well as bring us depth perception, scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the book. One thing however, I think it only fair to really see what’s swinging between those legs, I mean we get plenty of the hairless backside.
I found myself caught up in the events that we see playing out before us. I now have to wonder which part of the legends will be utilised to their fullest because we see a fair bit in use already and it makes me excited to see what else there might be. This is one of the most intriguing adaptations that I have come across, and I do not mean just for Sleepy Hollow either.