Boom Studios 2015
Written by Mike Johnson
Illustrated by Matias Bergara
Coloured by Tamra Bonvillain
I really enjoyed this issue and if you are a fan of the series then you’ll really appreciate it if you don’t watch it then this is the perfect introduction to the characters and where they come from. Mike does a great job showcasing these folks and the events in their lives that led them to be where they were when their lives became more significant leading them to their destinies. Matias and Tamra do a very nice job in bringing this to life as well, the use of panels and page layouts are great as is the resemblance of the characters to their actor counterparts.
I enjoyed seeing Ichabod’s story as he went from a redcoat to a blue. The feelings he has for his father and his family notwithstanding his decision to do what he feels is right is quintessential to who he is as a man. What he’s seen in the colonies changed him and set him on the course he is now on. It’s a short story but rather well done and told. While I am not a fan ordinarily of short stories this one is impressive as it showcases Ichabod nicely.
Ah Jenny she’s so underrated and yet she was locked up for so long because she said what she saw. While we only get a peek at her time in the institution it isn’t really enough to showcase the horror’s she had to endure being sane while those around here weren’t and considered her to be just as unstable as the others. She’s being medicated and treated as a looney tune but she’s not and that kind of injustice really does a number on you. Hopefully she’ll get a mini-series that details her time from when she first experienced the thing in the woods till she was able to get out. All I can say is that this is a testament to her strong will.
Poor Abraham his misfortune of befriending Ichabod and losing his fiancee to him well that is the straw that broke the camel’s back. His story is well documented but it’s still interesting to see his and Ichabod’s relationship though. I kind of wish this segment could have been spent on Corbin and what he knew long before he took Abbie under his wing that has been less explored than the headless horseman and desire for revenge for the man who stole the love of his life.
Seeing Ichabod’s son as an infant and seeing how he feels about his parents who he thought abandoned him but in reality it was so different. His anger and his development as a powerful child who buried alive by the Sisterhood of the Heart. These events that we see here fuel the boys imagination of being unwanted and unloved though had Ichabod survived and stayed alive in this time then things would have been different but they aren’t. Then being risen to be the Horseman War yeah we see that but without a good at look at who has freed him.
Abbie’s story is nice, her first day on the job as a cop and the incident that led to being caught and her boyfriend jailed then Corbin’s offer to help her out. Pretty standard really we’ve heard it before but with the writing and the artwork we are able get a much more personal feel for the story.
A group of short stories focusing on the main players for the television show and for those that haven’t started watching it well then it’s a perfect starting point. For fans of the show it’s a nice closer look at we know and it gives you a more in depth view of how they think and behave. This is a very well done first issue I look forward to seeing who is focused upon in the next issue or more will there be another issue like this with a look at more characters in the show.