Graphic Content: Redfork by Alex Paknadel and Nil Vendrell

 Being from Kentucky and getting my formal education there, I have always been interested in Appalachian fiction. Many people might dismiss it, particularly its worst examples, as mere “poverty porn,” or fiction where the defining aspect of the characters are their lack of money or opportunities. The better examples of Appalachian fiction are those that look more at why there are few opportunities as well as what keeps people here. There is the constant push and pull of tradition versus progress, but in many of these stories, what has come as a savior to this community, whether religion, industry, or even family, ends up being the villain, the one who keeps a better life for the people of Appalachia just out of arm’s reach. One such clear example of this is the graphic novel Redfork.

Ex-con Noah McGlade has just returned to Redfork, West Virginia, a town where opioid addiction and economic decline have sunk their claws deep into the populace. As he tries to make amends for how he’s hurt others, namely his parents and his own family, he also discovers that another destructive force has come to Redfork. His name is Gallowglass. He seems to be a charming fellow that just wants to help his fellow man, except Gallowglass might not be a man at all. What he is offering to the citizens of Redfork might sound like the answer to their prayers, but it ends up the gateway to a new nightmare. To stop Gallowglass, Noah will have to be the hero he never was before if he wants to save his friends and family.

The graphic novel is full of references to economic hardships and addiction that permeate a lot of Appalachian fiction, but writer Alex Paknadel’s Lovecraftian spin and subterranean horror does give it a gruesome coat of gory red paint, courtesy of artist Nil Vendrell. His monsters are also truly horrific in appearance, but there are also all-too-human monsters. There is some clear symbolism involving Gallowglass and the mining company that has allowed generations of Redfork’s men and women to lose their lives in the mines. All the residents of Redfork, Noah included, are tempted by a Faustian bargain that seems all too familiar to readers of Appalachian fiction: have faith in God and in the company you break your back for. All it will cost is your life above ground.