Howdy everyone. Elias here. We’ve made it to 201. Whew! The mountain that is 200 seemed large and tall but we’ve summitted, only to notice there are many more, many taller to climb. So join us as we embark on our new journey with webcomics. We’re paring down the amount we review each week to one, to give our reviewers a bit of a break, but that just means we have more space to dig a little deeper and read a little closer.
Kicking us off is a revisit of a comic we reviewed not too long ago: “Counting Sheep.” Has it held up in the intervening months? Read on, fellow webcomics travelers to find out all that, and more, in this issue of The Webcomics Weekly.
Counting Sheep
Episodes 1-14
Schedule: Mondays
Written and Illustrated by A.Rasen
Coloring Assisted by Isabella Caliarte
Edited by aul & Jun Alakotia
Reviewed by Michael Mazzacane
Surprisingly I haven’t looked at many horror strips for this column. Horror comics are not normally my jam, but there is something potentially experientially interesting in this format. Despite it being the device of uber connection the smart phone has been consistently theorized as an isolating user experience. That feeling of isolation is potentially a useful environment for reading a horror story. After reading the 14 chapters of “Counting Sheep” the potential is still there this strip just isn’t that scary and ultimately repetitive in how it implements the scares. This feeling of repetition further highlights what feel like a few plot leaps and character dynamics that don’t quite come together.
“Counting Sheep” is set in a nondescript small town, if the nameless city of Se7en or Saw had a suburb this would be it, where nightmares are slowly taking over. A nightmare virus is slowly infecting the township and it might have something to do with rumors of a previously defeated cult, a beheaded god, and the remains of that random castle over the hill. As the nightmares grow a trio of friends begin to unravel the intersecting mystery and try to get a good nights sleep.
As a horror story “Counting Sheep” is a solid read. Creator A.Rasen locates horror in the compounding unresolved issues of day to day existence. When the series opens Caleb is dealing with depression and feelings of guilt over the accidental death of his younger sister, on his watch. The horror however comes from the unresolved and unfulfilled communication with his parents who overload him and silently guilt him as they deal with their own depression issues. His partner, David, is working class and dealing with a terminally ill parent. And Pao is neglected by her Mother and consistently alone in a large house, despite being economically the most secure she is also the loneliest. This creeping dread is a strong source of horror and effective for the nightmare-logic that the strip employs.
The problem is all of that is understandable through the lens of psychoanalysis, class, etc. None of that is inherently “scary” it’s just waking life in 2022. In order to draw out the horrifying potential of these unresolved issues “Counting Sheep” frequently focuses on the subconscious dream world of its cast in more of a straightforward way instead of the ironic dream logic of say Nightmare on Elm Street. A.Resen’s line art and figurework is overall strong and the monstrous elements in these strips are technically well done. In particular episodes 6 and 9 feature morphing transformations that track as should be scary. They just aren’t because the creator redundantly employs the same mechanics to elicit shock and freight in the reader via jump scares over and over. Ending the first strip on a jump scare as the final panel is the right call. Ending the second one on the same premise wasn’t a bad choice it fit the narrative of the strip. And then they did it for the third one, and again and again. While the dreams eventually become longer as the strip progresses A.Resen’s repetitive use of jump scares as the avenue into the horrific quickly loses their effectiveness.
The transition to dream logic in episode 6 is obvious, but what makes it one of the few effective moments of dread in the 15 strips is how delayed the shift to horror is. And this transition isn’t a sudden jump scare but the slow morph into an ear wax monster. I can understand the techniques and mechanics employed in this strip, but they do not move me or frighten me. As narrative units these longer dream sequences are well done. Caleb’s opening dream on the lake and the human buoy is an effective juxtaposition of the natural and supernatural. The long poles of the human buoy below the water fit the vertical orientation of the strip to. Dave’s monstrous dream about the Father who won’t let him leave and he himself cannot leave is an effective chase. None of them just read as all that scary.
Continued belowThis feeling of technical appreciation and distance also comes through in the core cast. A.Resen’s expression work is subtle and effective, these look like complex characters feeling a push and pull of emotions. These reactions are often juxtaposed against the dead faced adults in their lives. The dialog, however, often reads as a bit tinny and thudding. How exposition is handled in this strip isn’t the greatest, but it is serviceable. What comes after the exposition is where it begins to run into friction.
There are conversations between Caleb, David, and Pao, that don’t read like friends would interact; they’re all way too aware of the “proper” way to word things and understanding of what one another is going through … and yet they are unable to actualize this verbal understanding. Much like the horror elements there is a disconnect between the pictorial element of the strip and the verbal. The interpersonal dynamics aren’t all bad and their figure work does a good job in creating an interiority for these characters even if the scripting reads a little robotic.
The potential for phones to be an effective and affective delivery for horror comics is still out there. “Counting Sheep just isn’t the best example of that potential. Awkward moments aside this is a solid horror strip, especially for those with a low scare tolerance. The characters sound interesting even if they aren’t always the most interesting.
