Loosely based on the video game series of the same name, “Costume Quest” wisely avoids the tropes of a direct adaptation, rather relying on some common elements of the original media, but choosing to tell a separate story focused on the bonds of friendship, the dangers of bullying and how to persevere. With beautiful and imaginative art, this is certainly a breath of fresh air.
Written, Illustrated & Lettered by Zac GormanCover by Zac GormanHot on the heels of the freshly announced video game Costume Quest 2, Oni Press presents an adorable Halloween-themed graphic novel from Double Fine Productions (Broken Age, Psychonauts) and comics superstar Zac Gorman (Magical Game Time)! Klem and his pals aren’t the most popular Grubbins in candy-starved Repugia, but Klem’s hoping that will change once he brings a hoard of candy back from the human world. After all, it’s Halloween, so there’s candy everywhere! Unfortunately, there’re also bullies everywhere, ready to steal all of Klem’s sweet, sweet loot. Will he and his friends make it out alive, or are they doomed to an eternity of sugar-free torment?
At its heart, “Costume Quest – Invasion of the Candy Snatchers,” is a story about three friends who, each on their own way, will stop at nothing to help each other out, against difficult situations and even more difficult bullies. The fact that these three friends come from a dimension of monsters, invading our earthly plane as part of their plan to steal candies for their party is, well, simply added layers.
As it is usual for books and OGNs fully envisioned and prepared by a single artist, “Costume Quest” by Zac Gorman has a fluidity and consistency through it that is hard to find on any shared collaboration, no matter how in synch creators may be. Readers might be familiar with Gorman’s work from certain issues of “Rick & Morty,” or even his own collaboration to Marvel’s “Great Lake Avengers.” It is his animated flare that shines through on this OGN, not only on how settings and characters are designed, but perhaps even more noticeably on how speech bubbles and lettering is laid out. More on that in a second.
Gorman’s visual identity should be clear to the audience from the opening pages of “Costume Quest,” as the world of Repugia and the characters surrounding Klem and his friends are first presented. Large eyes and iconic characters tropes (“the fat one,” “the smart skinny one”) are used quickly to establish roles and tones. Given the theme of a Halloween special, a more moody palette is applied: it doesn’t make the OG dark in any way, as the tones are surely vibrant, but they do lean on the greens and oranges that one would expect for a book of this nature.
It is when the story develops a bit further that readers start to notice some things truly unique to “Costume Quest.” First of all, the aforementioned speech bubbles play a key role to reflect how Klem thinks and acts, and how the monsters around him pay little attention to the little guy. Gorman renders the panels with lettering and bubbles in mind, so that when Klem is overly excited, they flood the panels and pages, visually squeezing the characters in. When Klem wants to get a point across but is unable to, the bubbles uttered by the other monsters stay on top of his, making it hard even for the readers to understand what he is trying to say. It is a smart choice rarely used in comic books these days, and one that helps bridge the gap of an audible media with one that isn’t.
Character designs also gets better as “Costume Quest” progresses. Some of the latter antagonists on the story have a more elaborate plan around them, dovetailing away from the more iconic choices applied for the leads. Some of the more outlandish ones might remind older readers of the ‘Beetlejuice’ cartoon from the late eighties/early nineties.
Gorman is no slouch on character motivation, development and overall plot. Taking a somewhat simplistic approach – young boy needs their friends help to succeed, learning in the process the true value of friendship – the artists includes enogh innovation to keep “Costume Quest” fresh. What strikes the most in this regards is how one can find similarities and kinship in the most unlikely of places. As the tale moves forward, Klem and his friends run into some truly astounding creatures – humans! – who are able to offer them shelter when their own kind is so brutal towards them. Not that these humans are an entirely benevolent race – and “Costume Quest” is smart on how to show that – but, regardless, it shows that similarities in spirit are much harder to find than in appearance, and much more valuable at that. An intelligent lesson that is not delivered in any ham-fisted way, but rather woven into the core aspects on the book.
As “Costume Quest” ends, Klem’s world remains largely unchanged: this is not a story of earth-shaterring consequences, of dire straits that may leave characters forever changed. Instead, readers will experience the gradual growth of this trio of monsters. It is clear as it wraps that all of them have become slightly wiser, slightly more mature and that certain bonds have been made stronger. It would be excellent to continue reading about these small monsters and how their most recent adventure will play out in the future.
As an original graphic novel, “Costume Quest – Invasion of the Candy Snatchers” work remarkably well, especially factoring that it is a conceptual adaptation of a video game. With the wise decision to only lightly base itself on its source material to deliver an independent story, Zac Gorman was free to deliver a beautiful package, where script, art, colouring and lettering all come together on a consistent visual identity. And even if the core story is nothing ground breaking, it is told in such an honest way, and with enough twists to keep it new, “Costume Quest” is a joy from start to finish.
