This miniseries from Red 5 Comics has already been optioned for a movie, and it’s not hard to see why. “Haunted” is a story with a lot of scope and grandeur to it, centering on a future where the monsters of legend have run rampant.
Written by Scott Chitwood
Illustrated by Danny LuckertIn the story of HAUNTED, the barrier between our world and the spiritual realm was mysteriously torn apart allowing the Earth to be overrun by ghosts, demons and poltergeists. Creatures once thought to be mythological terrorized mankind and society collapsed. Thirteen
years later, Sarah McCallister manages to survive by being tough, smart, and looking out only for herself. But when a chance to set the world back to normal arises, she finds herself in the compromising position of putting her faith in strangers for the first time.
It’s hard to romanticize Sarah McCallister’s position – not least because, on page four, she whacks an old lady upside the head. She’s good at living in this post-Ragnarok wasteland, and that’s because she’s ruthless. The big question is whether she can harness that ruthlessness when she gets a chance to set the world right.
Sarah starts off narrating the story in a play-by-play fashion, immersing us in her harrowing everyday life. This first section is arguably the most successful for just that reason; it strings us along through a terrifying world, parsing out the exposition alongside the action. We learn what kind of monsters the world is dealing with and which ones are dangerous, and we learn the rules Sarah must follow in order to stay alive. These details add depth and believability to the scenario, and expose the flintiness of Sarah’s character.
The ensuing section, wherein Sarah encounters a brilliant scientist-and-priest team, runs into some difficulties. The trouble is the sheer amount of exposition that comes across at once; it weighs down the dialogue, which takes a couple of rereads to be absorbed properly. Happily, so far as the arc of the issue goes, this encounter doesn’t go as expected, and we learn a bit more about Sarah’s personality because of it. That sounds awfully vague, but simply put, the way Sarah reacts to the team’s promises is both believable in terms of her character and logical. Instead of a simple info-dump, the issue ends on a more illustrative moment, with proof of what’s to come standing before our eyes.
Luckert’s art moves back and forth between a hard-outlined Art Nouveau-ish style and a looser one when it comes to the monsters. It’s not a combination you see every day, but it’s captivating; Luckert plays the contrast to the hilt, coming up with a diverse look that still feels coherent. Things get really interesting when the ornate style runs up against the brutality of the circumstances; there’s nothing quite like watching a heroine with flowing Mucha hair tear down the street on motorcycle. On the other end of the spectrum, a less dangerous monster surprises us by being a sketchy-spectral figure, looking poetic and out of place amongst all the rubble.
At the same time, the compositions keep us on our toes, finding innovative ways to guide our eyes through this story. A stray shard of glass winds up superimposed in front of Sarah’s face, highlighting her reaction; the spectral figure I mentioned before holds up a translucent hand, spotlighting Sarah’s figure in the distance. The constant tension between foreground and background immerses us in Sarah’s hyper-vigilant perspective, adding to the suspense.
So far as characterizations go, Sarah herself is more angry and tired than swaggering – which is about what you would expect, under the circumstances – and her skepticism in face of the proposal at the end of the issue is palpable. It’s not hard to see why, when our scientist and priest come across something less than trustworthy; their expressions brings alternate shades of surliness and fervor to the proceedings.
All the while, Ivan Plascencia’s colours balance the grit and the magic beautifully, breaking up blues and greys with flashes of fuchsia. The florid skies are the perfect finishing touch, glowing in all kinds of Doomsday hues and keeping the mood oppressive.
Continued belowWith its big story and tough-as-nails heroine, “Haunted” is off to solid, if slightly cluttered, start. The overall appeal here is similar to “Enormous”; it’s all about luminous art portraying a tough, survivalist world, and the strength of this approach is undeniable. Now that the exposition is out of the way, this story has plenty of places to go; accompanying Sarah on her adventures looks like an exhilarating prospect.
Keep an eye out for “Haunted” come April 30th.
Final Verdict: 8.3 – Buy
