Source Point Press 2018
Written by Stan Konopka
Illustrated by Corey Christian Anderson
Lettered by Micah Myers
Billy is hounded, bullied and abused. He wants nothing more than a loving family... but it doesn't seem to be in the cards for him. That hate. That dejection. It calls out in Billy's voice and, this time, something answered. The Rejected, led by Mr. Teeth, offer Billy otherworldly protection and a place in the family. The shadowy beings allow Billy to take his revenge on anyone that maligned him. Billy has to be careful, though. The Rejected can make your desires come true... but at what price?
This is a sixty page fully realised story, a one-shot or a graphic novel take your pick but there isn’t another issue here this is it and let me tell you it is something to behold. The first few pages tell the story we need to know about Billy and his life. It almost breaks my heart to see what the kid has to go through on what I'm expecting is a daily basis. When he’s in bed and the door opens and we see him dream of something else which kind of looks like a nightmare isn’t because of a molestation that is going on because that would be just too much.
The way this book is structured is fantastic. Even without a lot of narration we see so much of Billy’s life and we understand so much of what he experiences thanks to what Corey does under the direction of the story. I don’t know if this is some sort of cathartic thing for Stan to get off his chest or it’s just his dark imagination realising a story where escaping ones demons creates one of a different kind. For me and what I see may not be exactly what someone else will take away from this. That alone is cause for applaud since it will touch each reader in it’s own unique way. There is a power here that is so undeniable and needs to be felt.
When Billy meets Mr. Teeth I swear it’s like watching the Babadook come to life for him. So what Corey does here with this and in his imagination and creativity is essential to how we see and experience Billy’s visions. A part of me sees this as Billy finally snapping and creating multiple personalities as a way to cope with his life. You can make an argument for a myriad of reasons as to what is happening with Billy all the way from coping mechanisms to the supernatural. I am telling you this too any of them can logically fit into Billy’s life and I am not sure if that’s a scary thing or a sign at just how good a writer Stan is in portraying all this.
At first I wasn’t sure I was going to like the work that Corey was doing on the interiors. I don’t want to say it’s odd or simple it’s just different than what I usually see. So that Corey is able to bring this to life and bring emotion to the page like he does is amazing stuff. The black and white style leaves no room for mistakes and the whole solid black of some of the characters is in itself strong and powerful work. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a nice eye for storytelling. The way that backgrounds are utilised here is spectacular and the overall effect that the linework brings us is perfectly suited to the story.
This is not for the feint of heart and reading this will affect you in ways you will not expect but this is the raw power of storytelling and how it’s meant to be. God knows that the ending took me by surprise and as the last page closed I was left feeling things in my own unique way. You need to experience that for yourself in your own unique ways.