It has been five months since the demons appeared in LA ... and opened the city's veins
Black Harvest Moon is the first of a series of one-shot comics that Barry Renshaw's Engine Comics are producing over the next few months. Baz is an enthusiastic comics champion, he's got a good eye and work he publishes is always worth a look. So let's take one ...
... Charting one man's flight from, subjugation by and ultimate transformation into something more terrible than vampires, this is a rivetting read. Terry Stock's script is strong and unsettling, if wordier than generally considered fashionable. The dialogue sparks along, and the narration moves well. This is a horror story, and a very well played one, focussing on one character and his experiences, rather than blood and viscera. The narrative voice adds and expands on what we see, really putting us inside the story. It leads us carefully and subtly, so that we don't notice just how far we've gone and the very end. Amidst the confusion and despair, Stock even fits in a laugh-out loud joke that doesn't seem out of place. Good work, really good work.
Colin Stanford's muscular art is equal to Stock's script. While obviously Kirby influenced with an undercurrent of Alex Toth, it no mere pastiche. It's plaing this is the way he draws, comfortably and with confidence. The storytelling is clear and effective, and generally looks a treat. Unfortunately, it's been rendered slightly fuzzy through being scanned, but this is a minor thing.
This comic really couldn't be any better, and at only a pound plus stamps it couldn't be much more of a bargain either.
A4, 32pp, £1 + A4 SAE (44p of stamps I reckon) plus age statement from Engine Comics, 8 Avril Close, Reddish, Stockport, SK5 6XH.