A comiXologist recommends…

WINNEBAGO GRAVEYARD #1

A very big want I’ve had lately was for a horror comic from a voice I hadn’t seen in a little bit.  Not to say Steve Niles hasn’t been busy or present, I just had a hankering for some horror and this looked right up my alley.  With sleepy small town vibes, out of the darkness comes the haunting opening to Winnebago Graveyard.

Issue #1 of this new spooky tale leaves readers asking questions and scratching our heads as we roll along through the introduction of a typical American suburban family – a wife and mother, her son, and the new husband and step-dad.  The strained relationships of families is a classic trope of the horror genre. The works of Guillermo Del Toro are prime examples of the importance of family in horror.

We join the family on a nice little jaunt through a small, middle-of-nowhere carnival only to find their Winnebago and phones missing when they return (Because dad wanted everyone to be “present.”  What does that even mean, DAD?!).  Forced to find the nearest small town for aide, the three start their trek through scary cult country.

This is a tremendously quick first issue and exceptionally well presented in Sampson’s particular brand of gestural design and blocking.  The angles feel hard, like an effective pushed perspective, but the characters flow through it in the best kind of planned mess only the most confident can do.  Sampson is very confident.

Also, the cover is making me ask a lot of questions about the direction the plot is going.  I’m into this book so far.  

Matthew Burbridge is a Digital Editor at ComiXology and he really wants folks to hit him up about the new Twin Peaks. He’s watched it 3 times through now and is itching to talk about it.