Devil’s Fork, Arizona is the hottest spot for tourists. Literally the hottest, but it’s a dry heat. Still not sold? A bevy of bigots proudly calls Devil’s Fork home. Still not interested? Did I mention the man-eating chupacabras and ghastly skeleton monsters? Wait! You didn’t even let me get around to the portal to hell…
Written by Eric M. Esquivel
Illustrated by Ramon Villalobos
Lettered by Deron Bennett
Colored by Tamra BonvillainThe crazy old lady known only as La Curandera tells a tale that begins 500 years ago in the Aztec Empire at the peak of its strength and ends in her dirty little Arizona gift shop with four kids and a wayward Chupacabra, all of whom are meant to save the world from an ancient evil. Alas, it’s a school night. But our heroes defy their destinies at tremendous cost when a new and yet very familiar foe is revealed.
You just might feel bad for the four kids starring in “Border Town”. Readers get to put their comic down but those teens are trapped in that hellscape. Frank, Julietta, Quinteh, and Aimi have been having a rough time so far and there’s no sign that writer Eric M. Esquivel is giving them a break any time soon. Another reason readers might sympathize is that Esquivel pens very compelling characters. Teenagers are not always written the best. Sometimes they are just the same high school archetypes under a different name. The jock, the rebel, the nerd, etc. Sometimes, it’s very obvious that a middle-aged person is behind the script (There were a couple of awkward moments when Mark Waid started “Champions” over at Marvel). Minorities are also not always written the best.
Fortunately, the four minority teenagers are believable three-dimensional characters. Sometimes hormones get the best of them. Frank crushes on Aimi in the middle of an attack while Julietta fumes over that burgeoning attraction. They can be foul-mouthed and angry. All are understandably freaked out by the invasion from hell. Frank and Julietta don’t immediately answer the hero’s call to action, putting themselves first. The kids have their positive traits too. Quinteh is a gentle soul. Julietta is resourceful, calling the cops to handle some chupacabras for them, knowing the officers would react negatively. Aimi is the star of this issue though. She deserves the cover and in particular proves to be a fighter. This teen does immediately answer the call to action and studies all there is to know about the new threat before preparing for battle. Her takedown of Vice Principal Egan is particularly badass. Aimi isn’t going to take anything lying down and is ready to get down to business.
Another plus is how the comic keeps one foot in fantasy and the other in reality. The teens have to contend with threats both supernatural and close to home. Julietta and her family could be deported by ICE agents while racists are forming armed militias. That’s just the people, the wildlife would be all too happy to harm them too. It is great how the comic can blend the two worlds so perfectly. The opening exposition/history lesson told by the curandera through a supernatural lens was very interesting. The fact that the chupacabras present themselves as a person’s worst fears is another stroke of genius. As mentioned before, the cops react negatively to the chupacabras because they see ‘presumably’ black people in hoodies and a Colin Kaepernick jersey. The script is not pulling punches. Neither is the art.
The artwork really makes “Border Town” stand out. At the risk of sounding like a hipster, I have to say that I was a fan of Ramon Villalobos before it was cool. The artist has a very unique style that is a perfect fit for this mature title and has been making eye-catching work for years (Do yourself a favor and check out some of his old stuff on his Tumblr page). The book is heavy on horror and Villalobos doesn’t shy away for even a minute. It is all there, in its gristly, disgusting glory.
Villalobos draws many stand-out panels and moments in this issue. The close-up panel of the creepy vice principal talking with bits of apple and spittle flying out of his mouth is just gross. The looming Mictlāntēcutli and Mictecacihuatl watching in approval as a child’s decapitated head rolls down the steps are terrifying. Blake’s transformation from Nazi to something even more demonic is the artist at his goriest. The skinhead hacks up blood. He grows spikes along his spine. That final page is something straight out of a nightmare. Blake takes in his new appearance while his freshly ripped off face lays on the side of the sink. It’s still dripping blood while little bits of ripped skin still hang around his waist! I am seriously concerned it may haunt my dreams, so…
Well done.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Things are just heating up in Devil’s Fork!
