Zenescope Entertainment 2019
Story by Ralph Tedesco
Written by Victoria Rau
Illustrated by Babisu Kourtis
Coloured by Fran Gamboa with J.C. Ruiz
Lettered by Carlos M. Mangual
In the aftermath of two brutal murders, the small New England town attempts to come to grips with the idea that a killer may live among them. Meanwhile, Erica's disturbing night terrors begin to worsen and her best friend, Tamra, continues to insist that Erica's house is haunted. Erica confides in Tamra and Chris that she suspects her creepy neighbour could be behind Stacy's murder. This prompts Erica and Tamra to break in, only to make a terrifying discovery.
Oh last issue was something and the way that Victoria wrote it left me wanting more. So here we are with issue two and it is worth the wait for sure. Okay so we are a little light on what's going on here and this town, this school and the townsfolk are kind of like mixing the Stepford Wives with Salem's Lot.
As a reader you know something is up with this town and that the atmosphere just isn't right. Something here is off and well its just something that you feel as well as see. The kids here are trying to cope with the death of their friend and all around them these men whom are in charge make assumptions based on their superiority and it's maddening not to be able to reach and slap em for being idiots. But here's the kicker, that Victoria is able to make the reader see, feel and become emotionally engaged in the story means she's doing something absolutely right. This is her proving she's a hell of a great writer.
My one complaint if you want to call it that is that we aren't learning enough as quickly as I would like or was hoping for. That is my big complaint lol. Still the story & plot development and character development that we see here is really rather nice to see. The one thing we do know that doesn't need explanation is the fact that this time has given Erica a chance to really bond in her new friendships and even the blossoming romance with Chris. We don't see enough of the creepy stuff in her house either as I keep hoping we will see more and more of the supernatural ghost stuff. That symbol under the bed or the flying chair yeah more of that please.
The interiors here are really nice. I like the way w see the linework and how it's utilised through it's varying weights to create this stellar attention to detail. I am in love with the mood, tone and atmosphere that the woods give us thanks to work done here it's sensational! From the linework to the colouring all of it conspire to really make this something special. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this great eye for storytelling. The way that we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance the moments and bring this size and scope to the book is marvellous. The colour work is stupendous, the way we see the hues and tones in the colour to create the shading and shadows is so well done. This is such a mood setter that whether you realise it or not it's terribly effective.
So the way we see the sequence of events unfolding here make me wonder how we only have one issue of this remaining. I mean this could go on for four or five more and I'd still be terribly happy and supportive. Still all things being what they are this is the kind of story that if tweaked a bit would be a horror film I would be in line to see. It has all the hallmarks here and I cannot wait to see if what I believe to be true turns out to be so. I mean that's what Victoria has done she's gotten me invested, engaged and completely into this book, how about you?