Image Comics/OSSM Comics 2015
Created & Written by Brian Buccellato
Illustrated by Toni Infante
Colour Assists by Mado Pena
Lettered by Troy Peteri
Travis Crowe is a blue-collar mechanic whose rough childhood was spent in Foster Care. He struggles with fear of abandonment and has anger issues until a “chance meeting” leads him to his half sister, Jennifer, and the realization that he has eight siblings…..All fathered by an 80’s cult leader named David Daly.
Travis doesn’t know it, but David made a deal with the devil to sacrifice his children. And not only is he still alive, but he is determined to finish the devil’s work that started 25 years ago. Unbeknownst to Travis, Jennifer is covertly working with David to assemble all of the siblings for sacrifice.
This is definitely one of those rare odd books that grabs the reader’s attention and doesn’t let go. A combination of a intrigue thriller with a supernatural horror story as a man tries to find himself and his place in the world as he’s thrust in a scenario he can’t run away from. Brian really gets into these characters and brings them to us in ways that showcase the depth of his writing and how much time and passion he’s put into this. Travis is easily relatable to and his everyman kind of status makes him universally appealing.
After the opening of this issue i’m more interested than ever to see what the ultimate fate of Travis’ grandfather is. I mean he’s a cop and knows his daughter was in trouble and the last we see of him he’s watching the compound burn. So that the past keeps getting exposed this way and doesn’t reveal a heck of alot keeps the interest level extremely high.
Knowing what Jennifer is up to has slightly skewed how I see her portrayed from here on out. Is that a good thing or bad I’m not quite sure yet but it does sort of have that effect of wanting to holler at Travis like you would the girl in a horror movie. Still we have to see how she’s going about things so we can watch Travis grow as a person and figure things out. Luckily he won’t alone and what I wasn’t happy about in the first act is addressed in a way that kind of makes up for that.
With Mel back by his side and his siblings in the picture it’ll be interesting to see just how Travis is going to deal with the s-storm that’s coming. I’m thrilled this is back for the next act and I love the fact that reading this issue brought the entire story back so you don’t go back and re-read it. It’s so good that it just takes a small spark to remind you of everything that’s come before.
Toni with Mado’s help is killing it on the interiors. I love the style of artwork here it’s that gritty almost colourful noir, in muted tones mind you, that really keep the mystery and tension palpable.
The weaving of genres with this supernatural characterization makes this a book that you’ll never forget.