Rating: 4.5/5 – Really disturbing, but in a good way…
This features characters and concepts from Joe Hill’s 3rd novel NOS4A2 (which I’ve not read so cannot draw direct comparisons) but this comic is my first exposure to the concept/property and it made left a really good impression. This mini-series stands perfectly on it’s own, as a new reader I was completely satisfied, and should add additional story points for fans of Hill’s novel.
This is a LOT heavier on words than most comics on the stands and the narration by Charlie Manx throughout illustrated by Charles Wilson III weaves a very vivid story from Manx’s youth through to his transformation into the supernatural ‘whatever the heck he is’ that is the featured star of this series in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith.
This is a story perfectly choreographed for comics. It makes excellent use of the gutters (space between panels) setting up some truly disturbing moments before or after the actual action and the reader is left to fill in the details in their own mind. This is often more effective than the kind of horror that just flat out shows the “money shot” in all it’s glory.
This opening issue concentrates on backstory and the journey to Christmasland, an amusement parks in the Rocky Mountains. As the series progresses we’ll be entering the park which promises to be an even creepier version of Halloweentown’s vision of Christmas as seen in “Nightmare Before Christmas”. This is not kid-friendly, but it’s very good.
Reviewed by: Bob Bretall – bob@comicspectrum.com
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