Sonitus #1 (of 3)
Alterna Comics 2018
Written by Cody Sousa & Dan Sheppard
Illustrated by Cecilia Lo Valvo
Coloured by Dee Cunniffe
Mysterious voices lure a man back to his hometown to visit an abandoned house that he used to frequent as a child. But as he journeys through his old hangout, he encounters a supernatural presence that forces him to face his past and his darkest fears.
Sometimes it can be hard to do a book where all we are seeing is one character. You really have to rely heavily on the ability to weave the story and the characterisation in such a way that they seem indistinguishable. To say that Cody and Dan have impressed with this is an understatement because they deliver such a strong performance here that I was captivated from the start and starting wishing all three issues were back to back.
What I found the most interesting was the way that it started off with Ben approaching the old abandoned house. It comes across as this perfect setting for that “forbidden” house kids aren’t supposed to go near but teenage rebellion and a hideaway from adults keep them going into it. I’ll get into this a bit more later but wow to Cecilia and Dee for the work on because half the time I’d have never guessed this was two folks doing the work. Anyway so the imagery of him going into the house and the narration provided us is beyond expectations.
There are moments that are needed to catch a potential readers eye and draw them in and make them want to know what’s happening. While the first page was great and built up tension as we had no idea what was going on and then the two page spread that immediately follows hits you like a ton of freakin bricks. Like Harry Caray used to say Holy Cow! That was the moment I knew I was fully in.
I am enjoying the way that this book is structured and the whole ebb & flow of what we see. There is this real sense of loss and craving that I get from Ben. As he tells us his story through him remembering his life there is so well executed. I like the whole aspect that doctor’s have diagnosed him with Tinnitus when the reality is something far different and more likely supernatural in nature. It is either that or guilt or a combination thereof and regardless it’s what makes this whole concept even better.
So I was talking the interiors earlier and now I’ll expand on how they impact me as a reader. There is a great psychological horror aspect to the work that Cecilia lays down here. Scratchy and yet still full of moments of detailed clarity that make for some startling contrast. It is extremely eye catching and definitely heightens to the mood of the book. The colouring with it’s attention to lighting is superbly handled. The way page layouts are done so that we see these angles and perspective in the panels shows a strong eye for storytelling. That backgrounds are utilised is spectacular and the creativity and imagination on display are haunting and at times terrifying.
The story raises a lot more questions about Ben, what he went through in his youth and how that has stayed with him throughout his adult life. It seems that this is perfectly shown through what he experiences now as he revisits this place. Is he experiencing something supernatural or is this how his mind processes what it needs in order to heal him? My magic 8-balls says outlook unclear so iIll have to come back for the last two issues and find out for myself.
With it’s newsprint paper and delicious old school horror that bring back memories of series like The Witching Hour or Ghosts this really is something you DO NOT want to miss!
Alterna Comics 2018
Written by Cody Sousa & Dan Sheppard
Illustrated by Cecilia Lo Valvo
Coloured by Dee Cunniffe
Mysterious voices lure a man back to his hometown to visit an abandoned house that he used to frequent as a child. But as he journeys through his old hangout, he encounters a supernatural presence that forces him to face his past and his darkest fears.
Sometimes it can be hard to do a book where all we are seeing is one character. You really have to rely heavily on the ability to weave the story and the characterisation in such a way that they seem indistinguishable. To say that Cody and Dan have impressed with this is an understatement because they deliver such a strong performance here that I was captivated from the start and starting wishing all three issues were back to back.
What I found the most interesting was the way that it started off with Ben approaching the old abandoned house. It comes across as this perfect setting for that “forbidden” house kids aren’t supposed to go near but teenage rebellion and a hideaway from adults keep them going into it. I’ll get into this a bit more later but wow to Cecilia and Dee for the work on because half the time I’d have never guessed this was two folks doing the work. Anyway so the imagery of him going into the house and the narration provided us is beyond expectations.
There are moments that are needed to catch a potential readers eye and draw them in and make them want to know what’s happening. While the first page was great and built up tension as we had no idea what was going on and then the two page spread that immediately follows hits you like a ton of freakin bricks. Like Harry Caray used to say Holy Cow! That was the moment I knew I was fully in.
I am enjoying the way that this book is structured and the whole ebb & flow of what we see. There is this real sense of loss and craving that I get from Ben. As he tells us his story through him remembering his life there is so well executed. I like the whole aspect that doctor’s have diagnosed him with Tinnitus when the reality is something far different and more likely supernatural in nature. It is either that or guilt or a combination thereof and regardless it’s what makes this whole concept even better.
So I was talking the interiors earlier and now I’ll expand on how they impact me as a reader. There is a great psychological horror aspect to the work that Cecilia lays down here. Scratchy and yet still full of moments of detailed clarity that make for some startling contrast. It is extremely eye catching and definitely heightens to the mood of the book. The colouring with it’s attention to lighting is superbly handled. The way page layouts are done so that we see these angles and perspective in the panels shows a strong eye for storytelling. That backgrounds are utilised is spectacular and the creativity and imagination on display are haunting and at times terrifying.
The story raises a lot more questions about Ben, what he went through in his youth and how that has stayed with him throughout his adult life. It seems that this is perfectly shown through what he experiences now as he revisits this place. Is he experiencing something supernatural or is this how his mind processes what it needs in order to heal him? My magic 8-balls says outlook unclear so iIll have to come back for the last two issues and find out for myself.
With it’s newsprint paper and delicious old school horror that bring back memories of series like The Witching Hour or Ghosts this really is something you DO NOT want to miss!
RSS Feed
