Zoos have always been pretty gross, what with the animal poop and enslavement of living creatures for the entertainment of the masses. In “Beast Wagon” #1, Owen Michael Johnson and John Pearson delve into that horrid system with some interesting results. Check out our spoiler-free review below!
Written by Owen Michael Johnson
Illustrated by John PearsonIn the middle of a summer heatwave, the new arrival at Whipsnarl Zoo heralds a primal disturbance amongst its animal population.
Some believe it the harbinger of a vast cosmic event. For others, it is simply another prisoner. For some, it is a reason to revolt.
Over the course of the day, the human and animal interactions grow stranger, and the boundary between the two begins to blur…
I think the first time I was ever really afraid of a book was when I read Animal Farm in middle school. Towards the end of the book, when all the communism metaphors are wrapping up and the pigs have taken over the farm, there’s a scene where the other farm animals spy into the farmhouse. There, they find the oppressive farmers and pigs laughing and smoking at a poker table. The pigs are on their feet and almost indistinguishable from their human counterparts. This moment left a scar on my mind as a kid, probably from the abominable image of the pigs playing with humans. The whole tableau just seemed wrong, the very definition of a crime against nature. It was a distinctly primal horror, and one that stuck with me for years. And in “Beast Wagon” #1, Owen Michael Johnson and John Pearson dig into that fear and amplify it tenfold.
“Beast Wagon” centers around a fictional zoo in the United Kingdom where a special animal is expected to arrive. This animal’s presence incites a sort of madness in the zoo patrons, as well as the surly animals they’ve come to gawk at. As the hysteria caused by the beast’s arrival grows, the line between the humans and animals diminish. Those looking for a sturdy narrative like Animal Farm‘s may be disappointed by the comic’s surreal flow. Yet, that dreamlike tone allows for “Beast Wagon” to become a truly visceral experience.
Much of that can be chalked up to John Pearson’s art which is a grotesque menagerie of horror held together with an otherworldly sense of mysticism. His depiction of the animals is photorealistic, Zoobooks with a cynically realist filter. Pearson’s never afraid to make his animals a little ugly, and the same can be said for his humans. The zoo’s customers are painted in a vicious ignorant light that highlights the similarities one might see between a pig eating at a trough or a child devouring an ice cream cone. In that sense, both species are as crude as the other, especially the goats who cannot stop cursing and shitting at everyone. By clearly highlighting the relationships between man and beast and then trampling all over it, Pearson and Johnson have created a book full of crimes against nature, as indistinguishable as the farmers and pigs in Animal Farm.
That’s not to say “Beast Wagon” is all screaming and spiders crawling out of other spiders’ mouthes. I mean, yeah, that last one happens, but there’s a very rude sense of humor that alleviates the book’s heavy tone. The goats in particular are quick to foul mouth customers, while some of the monkeys struggle to get the anti-human revolution started. Actually, the funniest part of the comic may be the hippopotamus trying to confess her love to her human caretaker. There’s a lot of endearingly weird bits like this throughout the comic, and when balanced through the aforementioned mystic surrealism, create a portrait of a zoo that has something dangerously wrong with it.
And that’s kind of where “Beast Wagon” draws most of its appeal. By taking a kind of inherently messed up establishment like the zoo and digging into every messed up aspect of it, Johnson and Pearson have created a complex world and made it sick. Rather than go for the shock value found in other creepy comics, the duo attack the primal part of human nature and drag it down into the dirt with the other animals. By exploring the relationship between man and beast through such a disturbed filter, “Beast Wagon” proves to be a comic with something more to say beyond its diseased presentation.
Final Verdict: 8.4 – Though the experimental nature of the story might turn off some readers, “Beast Wagon” still manages to be a compelling showcase of design and tone. At the same time, it also provides a comeplling cast of character and the hints of a larger mystery at play. If you need any further convincing this book is worth your time, just picture it as Madagascar on acid.
Those interested in “Beast Wagon” may order it directly from Changeling Studios.
