Albatross Funnybooks 2017
Written by Fabian Rangel Jr.
Illustrated by Logan Faerber
Coloured by Brennan Wagner
Lettered by Warren Montgomery
When scrawny Marty Spencer is drafted into the Vietnam War, he finds himself smack dab in the middle of the heart of darkness. But Marty has a secret. A secret even from himself. And Vietnam is a hell of a place to find out you’re a werewolf.
First let’s give a huge shoutout to Eric Powell for relaunching his indie company. If i’m not mistaken I think this is the first book that isn’t his the company is putting out. So in an industry full of “little guys” and the “big two” floundering (in my eyes) it’s great to see talent being given a chance to shine. Besides if you’ve followed me you know i’m a huge proponent of the little guy because some of the best things i’m reading come from the most unexpected of places.
Well I have to say this intrigued me just hearing the title. Wasn’t hard to figure out it was werewolf in Viet Nam and the idea kind of struck me. I like Images ‘68 and this while in a similar vein has it’s own unique point of view and approach. I love that this takes place in 1970, a very good year to be born by the way, and that Marty has been drafted and isn’t shying away from his duty though his father really wishes he would, after all he won’t be there when the family secret is revealed.
Logan and Brennan do some really fun and smart work on the interiors. First the nose on Marty and his dad, yeah that’s kind of Jughead amazing and it kind of brings the all-ages element to this horror book that makes it truly universally accessible. I love that the violence is there but muted so we get the effect without the gratuitous gore that can be so upsetting. The creativity and imagination on display is superb and I really have to give major props for the utilisation of page layouts, angles, perspective and even the use of backgrounds here to bring this all to life.
Fabian doesn’t waste any time in showing us and his new squad the family curse. It’s an approach I wasn’t expecting but the reaction all around is perfectly done. I think a monster is a monster regardless of what side it fights on is an interesting way to see this right now. Can Marty win over the guys in his squad and make a name for himself in ‘Nam while fighting the good fight and coming to terms with who and what he is? We’ll see but the fact that Fabian manages to weave into this so many questions begging to be answered is brilliantly done. It guarantees that i’ll be back to see what’s going to happen next.
Also I do like the idea of actions having consequences. Exploring some Vietnamese lore or voodoo depending on your point of view was an excellent touch. Why should the West have all the interesting little behind the scenes stuff? I mean Asia has it’s own set of mythology and creatures of the night and darkness that we never see because we don’t live there so it’s nice that someone recognises that and brings that point of view across.
Alright go ahead and step away from the regular and discover the world of all-ages horror that should be taking the world by storm!