Graphic Content: Whisper of the Woods by Ennun Ana Iurov

 

There is a movie titled Don’t Go Into the Woods, which is also sound advice. In fact, many horror movies and stories are built around the premise of a character going somewhere they weren’t supposed to go, seemingly as an object lesson to not stray from the proper, well-lit path. Not going into the woods is, in fact, a time-honored tradition dating all the way back to Hansel and Gretel (though one could argue whether the children had any choice in the matter). Continuing that tradition of staying very far away from the woods by telling a very basic story is the short graphic novel Whisper of the Woods by Ennun Ana Iurov. 

Adam’s friend Vlad has disappeared. He went to Romania and no one has seen or heard from him, so Adam tries to track him down, venturing not only to a foreign land but to Romania’s most haunted forest, the Hoia Baciu. It is in this forest that the iele roam this forest looking for victims. Vlad might have been a victim of the iele, and Adam, who ventures into the woods, might be next.

Iurov, as both author and illustrator, has created a dark, little fairy tale that follows the basic premise of staying away from haunted places (an idea which frankly would have ended a lot of horror movies before they could get a body count) while also playing on the trope of the visitor to a foreign land or village that ignores the multiple warnings, from the townsfolk to the supernatural seeming omens, to leave. The story is rather basic, and would be rather uninspired if written out in text form, but it does allow Iurov to showcase gorgeous artwork that looks almost like hundred-year-old woodcuts. The barebones story and the artistic choices, like showing the differences of night and day by having vibrant colors during the day and stark black and white scenes at night make the book feel like a beautifully rendered children’s book. It’s a children’s book that’s not necessarily for children (for example, the nudity) but it might scratch a nostalgic itch for readers who long ago discovered they liked being scared all the way back in elementary school.

 

Graphic Content: Phantom Road Vol. 1 by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Hernández Walta

 

Jeff Lemire likes to be weird, and the graphic novel medium is the perfect genre to explore that weirdness. Lemire typically doesn’t tell a brief but powerful story; rather, he slowly introduces spooky elements and lets his readers bask in the uncertainty and their own fear. This time avoiding black barns, Lemire takes to the open road and the worlds where those roads lead in his newest series Phantom Road.

Volume 1 of Phantom Road introduces its main characters. Dom is a long-haul trucker who drives so he doesn’t have to think about the mess his life has become. He comes across a young woman named Birdie as she crawls from the wreckage of an accident. Among that wreckage is a strange artifact that attaches itself to both Birdie and Dom. Now, the two are not only thrust together but they must transport this artifact across America and through a world that is full of monsters.

The tagline of this book is “Mad Max: Fury Road meets The Sandman,” and its aesthetic blends both fictional universes. Gabriel Hernández Walta’s art adds the Mad Max element, and not just when he designs the desolate desert scenery, both in the real world and the other world. Dom’s appearance, especially when wielding a crowbar, is just one leather/armor cosplay combo away from Mad Max’s signature look. Walta also adds the Sandman elements that inform the design of the monsters, or lack of designs. Their faceless, vaguely humanoid forms are off-putting and alien enough to make readers uneasy, and uneasiness is where writer Lemire likes to leave his readers.

Much like Gideon Falls, Lemire begins this story with less information and more atmosphere. Even the truck stop with the far-from-lovable bear mascot adds to the unreal setting of the book. This first volume should leave readers wondering how and why the artifact is leading Dom and Birdie on a quest but intrigued enough to read further volumes and find the story breadcrumbs Lemire will leave.

New Arrival: Daughters of Block Island by Christa Carmen

 The gothic tradition might be just another subgenre of horror, but it might also be the subgenre that helped horror as a whole gain a foothold in the American zeitgeist. There are many horror fans who might remember the time they read Stephen King when they were “way too young,” but there are perhaps many others whose first entry into horror was Frankenstein or Wuthering Heights. For those fans whose minds jump to gloomy castles and stormy nights when it comes to horror, Christa Carmen’s book The Daughters of Block Island is here to give gothic horror the Scream treatment.

One of the first things this book does is remind you of its roots. The story begins with Blake Bronson, a gothic book lover and recovering addict searching for her birth mother on the mysterious Block Island. Unfortunately, she doesn’t survive the experience and she’s found murdered in a clawfoot tub. Receiving a mysterious letter in the mail from Blake, a sister she didn’t know she had, Thalia Mills also returns to Block Island to find out if Blake really was her sister and who may have murdered Blake to hide some deeply buried secrets.

For those who feel like this plot is somewhat familiar, then congratulations! You are the intended audience. This book, from the tone to the metafictional asides, is designed to tickle the pleasure centers of those who love gothic novels and love finding Easter eggs about graphic novels. Just like how the movie Scream and its many sequels dissected the horror genre, Block Island dissects the gothic tale and its many conventions, creating a gothic (naturally) tale that is more fun than frightening. It’s ultimately a lighter read for gothic fans who might enjoy the Gothic trappings in a story but maybe not the more archaic language that can be as dense and impenetrable as the fog around the island.