Image Comics 2018
Written by Tee Franklin
Illustrated by Alitha E. Martinez
Coloured by Shari Chankhamma
Lettered by Taylor Esposito
Welcome to the Jook Joint. Where your desires can be fulfilled. Where you will not be judged. Where you can be yourself. A place where disrespect will never be tolerated. And for those who break the rules, voodoo priestess Mahalia calls upon her coven of undead sirens to teach the offenders a lesson. But for the people who come from outside seeking help, Mahalia offers something more personal, whether advice, medicine, or revenge. Heloise comes to her pleading for escape from her husband, Jean-Pierre, who abuses both her and their daughter Giselle. But when Mahalia’s magic makes Jean-Pierre disappear, Heloise is unsure if she’s made the right decision.
On a side note I do like the Trigger Warning page it’s a great service to provide.
So we’re only on issue two so the opening sequence still needs to be rather dramatic, eye catching and something that makes the reader want to move forward. I will also say someone was traumatised by the original Poltergeist film which thankfully is just as “on screen” scary here as well. It certainly does exactly what it should do and so much more. This also leads us into the whole this really is a Mature title as we see the women sans clothing. The subject is pretty violent but as we start to see nudity and sexual situations that kicks things up a few notches.
Speaking of spoiler alert time the fact the violence can be considered hot and lead to crazy good sex well yeah. Of course while I have absolutely never wondered or wanted to see how two women scissor each other there is a sensual and eroticism about how it seen. I do however love Auntie and every single little thing about her mystery and all. The characterisation throughout out this is utterly spectacular and the more I see the more I love what I am seeing and the more I want to see. It just Auntie either because all the characters that we meet here are fleshed equally as well. Which in turn leaves us with characters who we want to see more of after this issue.
I love the flow of the book here is it weaves in and out of the supernatural and the mundane. We do get a lot of great moments as all this information and revelations flow out at us and create more of this mysterious understanding of what is happening, meaning that we have no clue and the more we learn the more questions arise. It is not a bad thing either there are so many things going on and so much to try and take in as it is but Tee really has her hand on the pulse as it were and delightfully guides us through this beautifully.
Oh I am a fan of the interiors here, nudity aside although there is something comforting about how natural it does feel. I love the linework that we see and how well the varying weights are utilised and manipulated to create such attention to detail. Whether that is foreground or backgrounds doesn’t matter it all has this marvellous look and effect that draws the eye in, moves it around and kind of lulls you into this false sense of comfort. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a stellar eye for storytelling. Also the colouring here is spectacular and there nuances in play that you might not notice but they make the experience feel elevated.
I do like seeing that regardless of what year it is and what the rules of the Joint are there will be those who think they are a cut above. Seeing what becomes of them is something else entirely heh but I do like seeing the how and why of what was behind this issues offering. This is enticing in it’s entirety and how it manages to feel like Bull and swift like Deer offering up the illusion of normalcy.