Comics
Review: ‘Crawling Sky’ #1
Adapted from his imaginative and thrilling novella anthologized in “Son of Retro Pulp Tales,” Joe R. Lansdale, his son Keith, and artist Brian Denham (“The X-Files”) deliver the Weird West goods with Crawling Sky #1. Reverend Mercer features, once again, in this irresistible tale of terror, only instead of confronting zombies, ghouls, and werewolves, this five-issue miniseries sees him dedicated to solving the mystery surrounding an isolated cabin where a savage creature lurks in the shadows.
WRITTEN BY: Joe R. Lansdale, Keith Lansdale
ART BY: Brian Denham
PUBLISHER: Antarctic Press
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: January 16th, 2013
As far as supernatural, Wild West horror tales go, both Lansdale’s seem unhindered in the process of writing cross-genre fiction. “Crawling Sky” is the wildest of Wests and the epitome of the monster–horror sub-genre; but with elements of entertaining adventure, terror, and humorous asides, it’s hard to categorize this series as anything but “Lansdalean.”
The first issue of the series begins with Reverend Mercer’s ominous introduction, “Nothing good ever took place under a crawling sky.” The words scribed onto the first page of the book are as daunting as Brian Denham’s black and white illustrations accompanying them. Opening with our first look at the aforementioned abandoned cabin, Denham cloaks the setting of “Crawling Sky” #1 in darkness, and emphasizes the forthcoming significance of a rundown well nearby. He does so, effectively, by utilizing perspective drawing techniques to depict the night sky being viewed from the bottom of the well. Whether the artistic intention is to showcase the sky through the eyes of the reader, or a cryptically symbolic character, I’ll leave that up to your interpretation. In either case, it’s remarkably clever, and writing about it makes me giddy.
We are introduced to a young man named Norville, a key player in the series, as he and his wife Sissy happen to be squatting in the isolated cabin near the abhorrent Texan town of Wood Tick. A town so vile, yet charming, that you’re left to commend the Lansdale’s and Denham on their envisioning of the characters. Unbeknownst to Norville, he accidentally sets free something ancient, dark, and evil from the well; but when tragedy strikes and the villagers of Wood Tick cast him aside as a loonatic, his only hope is Reverend Mercer who happens to be passing through. Turns out, Mercer has some business to attend to at the cabin himself; business that will be revealed in Part Two.
“Crawling Sky” raises my interest for horror-western fiction in a strangely surprising way. Coming into the series with no expectations, I’m left craving the next installment. Though, I’ll admit that it’s probably hit or miss for consumers, both Lansdale’s and Denham’s ability to simultaneously shock and charm readers with their writing and art, is a good enough reason to check this book out.
4/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – ShadowJayd
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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