Digital Mini Reviews | When Horror Comes From Within

Hi there!

Sometimes the most horrifying things in life isn’t under our beds or hidden away in our wardrobes: they lie within ourselves. As much as we’d like to be safe from these horrors, the mind can play tricks beyond our control and sometimes there’s just no room for rationality. Since October is a month known for all of its spookiness, here’s a couple of digital comic books that I checked out in the past months!

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Infidel by Pornsak Pichetshote.

A haunted house story for the 21st century, INFIDEL follows an American Muslim woman and her multi-racial neighbors who move into a building haunted by entities that feed off xenophobia.

Bestselling editor Pornsak Pichetshote (Swamp Thing, Daytripper, The Unwritten) makes his comics writing debut alongside artist extraordinaire Aaron Campbell (The Shadow, James Bond: Felix Leiter), award-winning colorist and editor Jos� Villarubia (Batman: Year 100, Spider-Man: Reign), and letterer / designer Jeff Powell (SCALES & SCOUNDRELS).

Collects INFIDEL #1-5

An interesting attempt to blend politics centered around Islamophobia and racism with a haunted house horror story. The artwork, however, carries most of the weight as the story struggles during its second half to properly deliver a compelling and coherent story.

Dying is Easy by Joe Hill.

Comedy is hard… but dying is easy! From New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill (Locke & Key) comes this new graphic novel mystery.

Meet Syd “Sh*t-Talk” Homes, a disgraced ex-cop turned bitter stand-up comic turned… possible felon? Carl Dixon is on the verge of comedy superstardom and he got there the dirty way: by stealing jokes. He’s got a killer act, an ugly past, and more enemies than punch-lines. So when someone asks Syd Homes how much it would cost to have Dixon killed, Syd isn’t surprised in the slightest. But, once he’s accused, he’s on the run and it’s going to take all of his investigative chops to suss out the real killer before he gets caught.

This crime thriller by writer Joe Hill and artist Martin Simmonds follows in the tradition of fair-play mysteries inviting readers to solve the murder before Syd does!

A disgraced cop turned comedian finds himself accused of murder and now has to resort to his investigative skills to find the real killer before he falls for something he never did. Writer Joe Hill looks to deliver a cynical comedic tone and noir-crime pacing, the latter being killer, to tell his story. While it makes for a fascinating mystery, it quickly struggles to keep the reader hooked. Artist Martin Simmonds offers a unique and highly-tinted artistic vision that is visually exciting but not enough to keep the reader engaged till the final reveal.

Kill of be Killed (Vol. 1) by Ed Brubaker.

The bestselling team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (The Fade Out, Criminal, Fatale) return with Kill or Be Killed, Volume One, the twisted story of a young man forced to kill bad people, and how he struggles to keep his secret from destroying his life.

Both a thriller and a deconstruction of vigilantism, Kill or Be Killed is unlike anything Brubaker and Phillips have ever done.

Collecting: Kill or Be Killed 1-4

I should’ve seen this one coming. Brubaker and Phillips do it again with another brilliant and dark story as they integrate a supernatural force into their masterful mystery thriller that now serves as a character study of a man pushed by his mind into vigilantism. The artwork is phenomenal and the story is gripping from start to finish.

Bog Bodies by Declan Shalvey.

An Irish gangster, on the run after a job gone wrong, stumbles upon a young woman lost in the Dublin mountains. Injured and unarmed, the unlikely pair must try to evade their pursuers and survive the desolate bog that has served as burial grounds for unspeakable murder throughout history.

Declan Shalvey (Injection, Savage Town) and Gavin Fullerton (Bags) deliver a cold and poignant story of crime, survival, and regret.

A short mystery that plays well with suspense and tension with its original premise, albeit a bit flawed. Its ending makes for a satisfactory read but, with a couple extra pages, it could’ve worked around its flaws better for sure.

Blue in Green by Ram V.

The dark and haunting portrayal of a young musician’s pursuit of creative genius — the monstrous nature of which threatens to consume him as it did his predecessor half a century ago. From creators Ram V (Grafity’s Wall, These Savage Shores) and Anand RK (Grafity’s Wall), BLUE IN GREEN is an exploration of ambitions, expectations and the horrific depths of their spiraling pursuit.

A charming and mind-numbing journey following a jazzist’s pursuit of creative genius that draws immensely on its psychedelic artwork to immerse readers into a harrowing universe. Clever in so many ways with the ways the story uses the artwork to tell its story, it does suffer from its confusing narrative and uneven pace.

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Have you read any of these?

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TILL NEXT TIME,

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