Comics

Review: ‘House Of Gold & Bones’ #1

Published

11 years ago

April 18, 2013

Deep in paranoia and reveling in insanity, House Of Gold & Bones #1 is a gripping read about the fear of the unknown. Corey Taylor, lead vocalist of Slipknot and Stone Sour, makes a stunning foray into comic writing that captures the essence of madness. Lost in the middle of nowhere, a young man drifts into another reality and struggles to find out where he is. Will he able to escape from this hell-hole or is he stranded for eternity?

WRITTEN BY: Corey Taylor
ART BY: Richard Clark
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: April 17th, 2013

A young man wakes up in a world much like our own, but so eerily different. Wearing a prisoner’s uniform, he notices his name-tag says only, “Zero.” The landscape is alive with alien sounds and something evil lurks in the darkness. Unsure of where to go, Zero has no idea how he arrived in this alternate reality of Hell. The shadows are alive, searching for him in this nightmare. What will happen if the sun sets and never comes back up? With no salvation from anywhere and anyone, there is no place for Zero to hide from the ever-growing darkness.

Inspired by the Stone Sour’s album of the same name, writer Corey Taylor jumps into the world of comics without any hesitation. As a storyteller, Taylor knows how to craft a mystery using characterization and atmosphere. Taylor is striving to let the mystery develop on its own, while leaving clues so that readers aren’t confused. Thought captions are used to provide depth to a mysterious protagonist, who may or may not be trustworthy. Though Zero isn’t given back-story, I’m hoping more information will come along in the next issues.

This installment is filled with many questions as Taylor sets up the groundwork for Zero. Because he is wearing a prisoner’s outfit, is Zero trapped in his own personal Hell on purpose? Or, does Zero have multiple personalities, and he doesn’t know which one is real? I find the Zero character interesting because Taylor presents him as both the protagonist and antagonist. I’m eager to find out the answers in the upcoming issues as the story develops.

Richard Clark focuses his artwork on creating a minimalist atmosphere of suspense. Clark uses wide shots to illustrate the vast open spaces and little backgrounds. While trying to evoke the mood of irrationality and confusion, Clark focuses heavily of Zero’s facial expressions. In the opening pages, Zero goes through a wide range of emotions – from calmness to shock. In the close-ups, Clark captures the fear on Zero’s face as he runs away from threats that may or may not be real.

Clark is able to build the creepiness and surrealistic vibe using just one setting. Clark surrounds a rundown building with streams of clouds as if they were pointing the way for Zero. The shadows are alive, chasing after Zero, who is too afraid to look back. Clark just gives a glimpse of a hand reaching out for Zero.

A promising start, “House of Gold and Bones” #1 explores the fear of the unknown in interesting ways. Though the issue leaves a lot of unanswered questions, I look forward to reading how Taylor will develop the mystery.

4/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – Jorge Solis

Related Topics:Corey Taylor Dark Horse Comics House of Gold & Bones slipknot Stone Sour

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Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

7 days ago

April 18, 2024

Meagan Navarro

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.