Review: Memoir #1

Written by Ben McCool
Illustrated by Nikki Cook

Writer BEN McCOOL (CHOKER) teams up with artist NIKKI COOK (Girl Comics, DMZ) for this six-part tale of mystery and memory loss. Lowesville is a small town in the American Midwest, peaceful and quaint. But one morning the population awakens with no idea of who they are, where they are, or what’s happened. The town’s memory has been completely erased. All except for one man… He remembers everything.

Not to overly editorialize, but 2011 was supposed to be the year of no minis for me. At least, not right out the gate anyway. Yet, despite my (now failed) New Year’s Resolution to cute back on the amount of comics that I find myself buying (while actively switching to trade), it seems that certain books have still managed to find their way into my buy pile – obviously including this week’s Memoir #1. Besides, who can ignore that totally awesome cover (that’s oh-so reminiscent, in a manner of speaking)?

So was the admittedly impulse buy worth it? Did I break my New Year’s Resolution for better or for worse? For a review free of editorializing, take a look behind the cut.

For fans of horror, the comic market is admittedly a tad dry. We have tons of coming of age books, mystery books, action, adventure and thriller books (not including all those capes), but not a lot of horror. While we have the powerhouse that is The Walking Dead or even recurring series like Locke & Key and 30 Days Of Night, there aren’t a lot of traditional horror stories in the mainstream market at the moment – at least, not ones as loudly celebrated. It’s with that in mind that Memoir arrives from the mind of Ben McCool, whose name is credited to the recent Choker and whose talent has already created a good deal of resonance (especially within the Multiversity offices), ready to wreak havoc and bring a new horror title to you as 2011 kicks off.

Memoir looks, reads, and feels like a very traditional horror story: news breaks that town out in the middle of nowhere that you’d never visit otherwise has been stricken with some kind of massive amnesia. Something has happened, but no one in the town knows what or remembers. Instead, it’s left an eerie glow over the entire town, and no one is quite themselves. It’s with this that in mind that we are introduced to Trent MacGowan, a journalist who travels to Lowesville to investigate the occurrence and out it as either a strange reality or an elaborate hoax. However, in true horror fashion, the town throws his curious nature back at him with a general proclivity of creepy behavior and anti-social natures. Of course, the issue then introduces (one of many) twists to the tale: someone remembers. But given the other shocking occurrences that take place while Trent is in town, what exactly does that mean?

This is the kind of horror comic that fans of the genre can truly embrace. Too often a new horror title finds itself so wrapped up in pigeonholing itself to specific genres or villains – it has to have zombies or it has to have vampires. However, Memoir (and vicariously, Ben McCool – or is it the other way around?) remembers what initially made horror so famous thanks to writers like Stephen King with stories like Children of the Corn, or even George Romero and the Crazies. The story finds it’s setting immediately, and it delivers a great page turner of dark intrigue as we are put into Lowesville where almost nothing can assumedly go right. That’s what’s ultimately great about horror – while we know the idea of what to come, a good horror story should find itself a great setting and feel that still manges to deliver it’s eerie vibe via the interactions held by the main character and not by cheap pop-out thrills. A good horror story within the medium of a comic is often even harder to pull off, because one can’t as easily create the cheap pop-out (especially due to a lack of skill). The fact that this title can be read and give a general sense of unease without relying on heavy gore or anything rather atypical of modern horror speaks volumes to the potential of the title, and it certainly helps that the title actually reads like a movie, already giving off vibes to stories like Silent Hill 2 (the videogame), The Crazies, and The Wicker Man (from the 1970’s, of course).

McCool really hits the story home with this one. While fans of his recent title Choker are certainly getting a book, it’s quite easily arguable that one issue in Memoir is already better. McCool writes this story as a great callback to horror of days gone by, giving a great mental transposition to what used to scare us when we all first entered the now rather muddied genre. Memoir can be looked at as a chessboard already, with all the pieces lined up appropriately for a great pay-off at the end of the story. From the mysterious opening page to the rather eerie middle sequence (that is too good to be spoiled) all the way through the final page, McCool offers up a rather healthy dose of intrigue to make Memoir already stand out. In fact, given the mysteries laid out already in the first issue, it’s already safe to say that Memoir will have a really nice pay-off due to it’s length, already looking to offer up a great single story by the time it’s done. That also generally adds to the only inherent problem with the story – with the first issue, you can already tell that the story will make for such an entertaining read when it’s done that it’s tough to note “wait for trade” it (but that’s generally an internal argument one keeps to one’s self).

With McCool in this title is Nikki Cook. Cook reminiscent to that of fellow indie artists Ryan Kelly and Becky Cloonan, as somewhat of a mix of the two art styles. While Cook doesn’t reach the highs of Kelly or Cloonan, her style is good enough that it begins to get up to that same level. Her use of black and white really captures the darkness of the tale, and the absence of color helps to accentuate the horror element. Running off the previously mentioned movie film, Cook’s art flows in the same way that great old black and white horror films do (minus all the timely camp) and really helps to continue to bring that flow to the story. Cook ends up being quite a formidable partner with McCool, and as much as McCool’s words bring out the creepiness of the town, Cook’s accompanying visuals really drives the point home, especially in the facial features. For Cook, it’s all in the face – everything you need for the varied characters is present in that simple way. Based on the way she draws them, you begin to get a feel almost immediately that there is no one you can trust in the story, and that includes Trent, the main character – and that is a dangerous yet powerful element.

Memoir starts out very strong. While to some such as myself 2011 might be the year to avoid minis, Memoir certainly does do a good job of breaking that idea rather quickly. With the first issue already, you get the feeling that the story honestly might read better when it’s all done and collected in trade, the tension given at the end of the issue due to it’s cliffhanger is one that trade waiters will certainly miss. Memoir obviously works in both ways – it’ll be a great read when done, but half the tension and the terror is in the wait, and as fans of comics you’d be remiss to skip out on the wait for this one.

Final Verdict: 8.8 – Buy