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Review: ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow – Wonderland’ #3

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Things are decelerating in Dark Horse Comics’ Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow – Wonderland #3, as Jeff Parker and Christos Gage reach the half-way point of the series. The quick-paced narrative that plowed through the last two slows down in this installment, as our protagonist must come to terms with the fact that her ultimate quest to restore Earth’s magic is failing. With a newly encountered society of witches pulling her one way, and her companion Marrak, another, this issue presents Willow with a multitude of choices regarding her future, both in this mystical realm, and on Earth.

WRITTEN BY: Jeff Parker, Christos Gage
ART BY: Brian Ching
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: January 2nd

‘Part 3’ takes Willow through the soul-crushing realization that without magic on Earth to anchor a portal to this mystical realm she’s found herself in, her hope of bringing magic back to her world through the gateway is dashed. Her reality has collapsed, yet she makes very little progress in terms of completing her quest, as she spends the majority of the issue becoming increasingly enamoured with the new mystical paradise she’s discovered. The witches, though seemingly well-meaning, have as much motive as the mysterious warlock, and ultimately, Willow will have to choose which side to take in the upcoming issues.

Parker and Gage devote this issue to Willow’s inner-musings, insecurities, and fears concerning her place in a world without magic, her usefulness to Buffy and the gang, and her reasons behind embarking on the quest itself. While it is very much a self-discovery piece, Parker and Gage utilize other characters to incorporate elements of vigorous and bitter conflict, action, and romance; even bringing back Giles via ambiguous vision.

Brian Ching’s pencils and Michelle Madsen’s colours do not particularly live up to their previous work on the series, but the deep water panels, which follow Willow on a significant underwater journey, make up for the inconsistencies. Madsen definitely steals the show, but Ching’s use of symbols in these scenes is just as commendable. It’s probably the first time I’ve seen the Ouroboros, the concept of Yin-Yang, the Dharmachakra, and the Venus symbol all in one panel.

Sadly, while still being an interesting and worth-while issue, this installment doesn’t quit hit my high expectations, though I do believe it’s a necessary filler to set up the remainder of the series for what looks like an epic finale.

3.5/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – ShadowJayd

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[Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream

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Tender Beth Hetland Graphic Novel

Beth Hetland’s debut graphic novel, ‘Tender,’ is a modern tale of love, validation, and self-destruction by way of brutal body horror with a feminist edge.

“I’ve wanted this more than anything.”

Men so often dominate the body horror subgenre, which makes it so rare and insightful whenever women tackle this space. This makes Beth Hetland’s Tender such a refreshing change of pace. It’s earnest, honest, and impossibly exposed. Tender takes the body horror subgenre and brilliantly and subversively mixes it together with a narrative that’s steeped in the societal expectations that women face on a daily basis, whether it comes to empowerment, family, or sexuality. It single-handedly beats other 2023 and ‘24 feminine horror texts like American Horror Story: Delicate, Sick, Lisa Frankenstein, and Immaculate at their own game.

Hetland’s Tender is American Psycho meets Rosemary’s Baby meets Swallow. It’s also absolutely not for the faint of heart.

Right from the jump, Tender grabs hold of its audience and doesn’t let go. Carolanne’s quest for romantic fulfillment, validation, and a grander purpose is easy to empathize with and an effective framework for this woeful saga. Carolanne’s wounds cut so deep simply because they’re so incredibly commonplace. Everybody wants to feel wanted.

Tender is full of beautiful, gross, expressive artwork that makes the reader squirm in their seat and itch. Hetland’s drawings are simultaneously minimalist and comprehensively layered. They’re  reminiscent of Charles Burns’ Black Hole, in the best way possible. There’s consistently inspired and striking use of spot coloring that elevates Hetland’s story whenever it’s incorporated, invading Tender’s muted world.

Hetland employs effective, economical storytelling that makes clever use of panels and scene construction so that Tender can breeze through exposition and get to the story’s gooey, aching heart. There’s an excellent page that depicts Carolanne’s menial domestic tasks where the repetitive panels grow increasingly smaller to illustrate the formulaic rut that her life has become. It’s magical. Tender is full of creative devices like this that further let the reader into Carolanne’s mind without ever getting clunky or explicit on the matter. The graphic novel is bookended with a simple moment that shifts from sweet to suffocating.

Tender gives the audience a proper sense of who Carolanne is right away. Hetland adeptly defines her protagonist so that readers are immediately on her side, praying that she gets her “happily ever after,” and makes it out of this sick story alive…And then they’re rapidly wishing for the opposite and utterly aghast over this chameleon. There’s also some creative experimentation with non-linear storytelling that gets to the root of Carolanne and continually recontextualizes who she is and what she wants out of life so that the audience is kept on guard.

Tender casually transforms from a picture-perfect rom-com, right down to the visual style, into a haunting horror story. There’s such a natural quality to how Tender presents the melancholy manner in which a relationship — and life — can decay. Once the horror elements hit, they hit hard, like a jackhammer, and don’t relent. It’s hard not to wince and grimace through Tender’s terrifying images. They’re reminiscent of the nightmarish dadaist visuals from The Ring’s cursed videotape, distilled to blunt comic panels that the reader is forced to confront and digest, rather than something that simply flickers through their mind and is gone a moment later. Tender makes its audience marinate in its mania and incubates its horror as if it’s a gestating fetus in their womb.

Tender tells a powerful, emotional, disturbing story, but its secret weapon may be its sublime pacing. Hetland paces Tender in such an exceptional manner, so that it takes its time, sneaks up on the reader, and gets under their skin until they’re dreading where the story will go next. Tender pushes the audience right up to the edge so that they’re practically begging that Carolanne won’t do the things that she does, yet the other shoe always drops in the most devastating manner. Audiences will read Tender with clenched fists that make it a struggle to turn each page, although they won’t be able to stop. Tender isn’t a short story, at more than 160 pages, but readers will want to take their time and relish each page so that this macabre story lasts for as long as possible before it cascades to its tragic conclusion. 

Tender is an accomplished and uncomfortable debut graphic novel from Hetland that reveals a strong, unflinching voice that’s the perfect fit for horror. Tender indulges in heightened flights of fancy and toes the line with the supernatural. However, Tender is so successful at what it does because it’s so grounded in reality and presents a horror story that’s all too common in society. It’s a heartbreaking meditation on loneliness and codependency that’s one of 2024’s must-read horror graphic novels.

‘Tender,’ by Beth Hetland and published by Fantagraphics, is now available.

4 out of 5 skulls

Tender graphic novel review

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