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Thrilling Adventure Hour Presents Beyond Belief #1
by: Jen Keith
It’s time to send the little ones to dream land and set your radio’s dial to ‘spooky.’ Bolt the doors, lock your windows, and steel yourself for mysterious suspense in this Wednesday’s feature…Thrilling Adventure Hour Presents Beyond Belief #1.
Coming to you from the beloved podcast and live show are Frank and Sadie Doyle, high societal functional alcoholics that love drinking almost as much as they love each other. This first issue of the four part series features the married mediums venturing out to their friend Donna’s new house, or rather, her new HAUNTED house. It really defeats the point of a house warming when there are so many cold spots around, right? At least the creepy dolls seem…welcoming.
Acker and Blacker, creators of the Thrilling Adventure Hour, are writing the series, so you know it’s authentic to the show’s aesthetic. They write in the back-matter that they chose artist Phil Hester for his ability to draw period pieces and monsters, and oh, they are not wrong. Hester pencils a charming Frank and Sadie that are very reminiscent of actors Paget Brewster and Paul F. Tompkins who play the characters. I’m particularly fond of the use of silhouettes that create dramatic contrast and give the Doyle’s a mystical presence of their own. Inkers Eric Gapstur with Ande Parks and colorist Mauricio Wallace compliment Hester’s work splendidly, and the atmosphere of timeless romance and class are lovingly rendered on every page.
Beyond Belief #1 provides plenty of spirited spirits (both the bump in the night and in-a-martini-glass kinds), and with a special bonus of Beyond Belief #0 in the back featuring the first meeting of Frank and Sadie, it’s not to be missed. If you’re more of the space western type or looking for more thrilling adventures, you can also try the new Sparks Nevada comic, or check out Archaia’s Thrilling Adventure Hour collection that includes more of the Doyles’ intoxicating and intoxicated exploits.
Join us in tonight’s dark episode, and find out if Frank and Sadie’s love and livers can conquer all.
*CLINK!*
[Read Beyond Belief #1 on comiXology]
Jen Keith is a Digital Editor at comiXology, comic artist, music addict, and exists for the purpose of making puns.