Heathentown

A funeral. An eerie town deep in the Florida Everglades. Anna has come to see her closest friend buried, but in the swamps death may be only the horrible beginning! Attempting to discover the truth, Anna digs up her friend's grave, awakening an ancient malevolence... bent on her destruction!

I'm going to tell you as little as possible about Heathentown's plot beyond the above back cover copy. The graphic novel is very cinematic; a brisk, mood-drenched read that rewards the most when you enter its sultry environs with minimal foreknowledge. The protagonist Anna Romano is to some degree a silent surrogate for the audience, so that you're not so much introduced to a character as thrust into her circumstances yourself. However, there is a distinct personality there, and part of the fun is the story's raising questions that the reader will have to be patient to have answered, or determine entirely for themselves. The supporting cast is depicted as they would be in real life-- through impressions and context. For this reason, the book demands the reader pay attention and fill-in details through their own imaginations; all the better for the intrigue and terror to envelope you.

Credit goes to the wife and husband team of writer Corinna Sara Bechko and artist Gabriel Hardman. Both have done work for Zuda, though the latter has more genre experience through his storyboards for films like Spider-Man 3, X2: X-Men United, Superman Returns and the Austin Powers series. Bechko is a surprising new voice in comics, who puts faith in her readers' intelligence. Hardman storytelling and tone are incredible, with a style reminiscent of Lee Weeks crossed with Al Williamson, and a dollop of '70s Filipino artists. Combined, they make Heathentown an immersive experience, and a dark place I recommend others pass through.