
IDW Publishing 2016
Written by Devin Faraci
Illustrated by Vic Malhotra
Coloured by Jason Millet
Lettered by Christa Miesner
Lou Ford is the deputy sheriff of a small town in Texas. The worst thing most people can say against him is that he's a little slow and a little boring. But, then, most people don't know about the sickness—the sickness that almost got Lou put away when he was younger. The sickness that is about to surface again.
Something is seriously not right in the Texas town of Central City. In a way this was really very good not to mention well and smartly told. It certainly grabs your attention right of the bat and as you keep reading you really begin to wonder, become slightly disturbed and finally by the time you’ve finished the issue you think what the hell did I just read? Devin’s writing, pacing, characterisation and sheer audacity when it comes to storytelling might just be a bright new voice in the industry.
Vic and Jason’s interiors are just as intriguing as the story is. Somehow the style Vic has fits every so perfectly within the realm of the story and this world. His eye for storytelling is strong and the flow of the book through the pages and it’s layouts work really well. Usually i’m pushing for more use of backgrounds as I feel they do wonders in fleshing out the story more with a nice subtlety here however their sparse use gives this more of a Noir quality and that again suits this extremely well. There’s great emotion from the work and you’ll be drawn in by the seemingly simple stylings before you know it. This is a mature title and there are boobs, now if we could just Lou even more naked, and partial nudity so beware.
Right off the bat when we meet Lou you start to wonder if the man is touched in the head. The characterisation is just so incredibly strong and distinctual. Before we’re halfway through with the issue parts of his personality are emerging that kind of make you constantly flip flop on your opinion of him and who he is. I’ve never come across this kind of writing before when it comes to the way a character behaves and that impact upon me as a reader.
The events that we see in this issue cause Lou to come up with a plan. Whether that will work or not remains to be seen but I’m thinking that one way or another this will all come out in his favour. In the meantime life in a town like this goes on and we get plenty of opportunity to see his background unfold. His Pa was a good man who raised him well and took in an orphan when his family died giving Lou an instant older brother. We learn about him too here and trust me when I say this isn’t for the faint of heart folks.
This is very much a Mature Reader title through and through with adult themes, partial nudity and sexual innuendo. The subject matter is such however that if you can put all in the proper context you’ll understand the kind of man this story centers around. Be prepared for shocking revelations and some language you might find questionable in taste.
All in all wow alright how can they beat this kind of introduction and keep this level up for four more issues?