Nutshell: Eerie art and clever writing gets October Faction off to a good start, series-wise. Would love to have some behind-the-scenes tidbits and sketch covers in this TPB, but I can wait. Looking forward to seeing these characters develop, but the story is a freaky-fun monster party nonetheless. Grade: A-
Story: Frederick Allen (monster hunter, retired) tries to keep his family safe while dealing with the ghosts — some literal — of his past. Meanwhile, his kids summon ghosts and his wife does much worse…
Best Line:
“To most of the natural world, humans are the monsters that bump in the night, that take the children and murder the parents.”
Thoughts:
Niles knocks it out of the park in October Faction. Whip-smart dialogue that manages to sum up oceans of thought in a single sentence. But the characters themselves are ciphers at this point; I’m hoping they’ll flesh out as things progress.
Damien Worm’s art is suitably creepy, and I love what he does with panels. Check out page 9*; a sense of dread thanks to small squares that show red eyes getting closer and closer. His use of color — some pages in black and white, others in sepia, still more in black, white and red — set the tone while never taking away from Niles’ dialogue. Edgy, beautiful work.
But the overall editing of this volume is choppy. Could be because I read an ARC rather than the finished piece, so there’s no cover art breaking up the chapters/issues. (Nor was there a cover, table of contents or publication information. All of which I’m certain will be included in the final printing.) There are also a few instances where reveals are a bit too sudden — Frederick’s former hunter pal springs to mind — but with Worm’s gloriously ominous art and the intriguing mythology Niles creates here, I’m willing to overlook a few bumps in the hope that pacing will even out once the story truly takes hold.
Subscribe or Shelve: If you’re a fan of Niles, you’re probably already reading this. But if you like monster parties and haven’t gotten your grubbies on this series yet, give it a try.
Publication 411: Collects issues 1-6 of October Faction. Hits stores August 11, 2015.
[*NOTE: I received an ARC of this title from the publisher. That did not influence this review, though the page numbers in the finished book may differ slightly.]
Ahh, the final day of ‘con. Always an exhausting day, but that’s only because you had so much fun. Right? (Hey you — I understand hangovers. But we’re not talking afterparties right now.) Gotta admit I was torched by Sunday noon. But did I get some pony intel? You bet I did! Straight from Bulk Biceps. Yeeeeah! Or Michael Dobson, as you do. Here’s the nitty-gritty of his press conference, which was 20% cooler than the rest of my day. (Which involved napping, btw. I roll deep.)
A quick shout-out to everyone’s favorite beagle! Happy birthday, Snoopy! Root beer’s on me. 🙂
Sinister 2 is helping folks get into the shivers by letting folks in to a special FREE screening of the original 
Okay, I’ve seen pumpkin beer at the liquor store, and Halloween stuff at the local craft store. Let’s get spooky y’all!
If you’re a fan of comics, you’ve definitely heard of Scott McCloud. I love How to Understand Comics, as well as his other how-to books. And who doesn’t love Bill Griffith’s Zippy the Pinhead? As an 80s gal, I know I have a Zippy button somewhere… Plus, Kathryn Immoen has run the gamut, from Marvel & DC to small press (tip: check out her work on Heralds. You’re welcome.)
Fantastic Four was my gateway superhero drug. So I’m psyched to see any tidbit. But the latest trailer has a bonus: a Deadpool post-trailer sighting!
Atomic Fangirl 