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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
North 40 by Aaron Williams and Fiona Staples
I love the premise of North 40: Two dopey high school kids, one a goth and one a geek, get a Lovecraftian tome of magic from the local library and call forth the minions of the deep ones to infect and ravage their small Texas town. The townspeople are tormented with freakish mutations and, a few, with superpowers. Then they start a' fightin.' At the same time, the racial and class politics of small Texas towns plays out across the city.
Our three main characters are a super-powered farmboy, a sassy teenage girl who becomes a sickle-wielding avatar for a nameless old crone, and a crusty old Sheriff just doin' his best, kind of like good version of the Sheriff from Volume 1 of Preacher. We don't get a lot of time for character development, what with the tentacled horrors, zombie plagues, and still-simmering feuds, but that's okay with me. It's a clever little horror comic, with just the right blend of humor, grotesquerie, and Cthulhu.
I love the premise of North 40: Two dopey high school kids, one a goth and one a geek, get a Lovecraftian tome of magic from the local library and call forth the minions of the deep ones to infect and ravage their small Texas town. The townspeople are tormented with freakish mutations and, a few, with superpowers. Then they start a' fightin.' At the same time, the racial and class politics of small Texas towns plays out across the city.
Our three main characters are a super-powered farmboy, a sassy teenage girl who becomes a sickle-wielding avatar for a nameless old crone, and a crusty old Sheriff just doin' his best, kind of like good version of the Sheriff from Volume 1 of Preacher. We don't get a lot of time for character development, what with the tentacled horrors, zombie plagues, and still-simmering feuds, but that's okay with me. It's a clever little horror comic, with just the right blend of humor, grotesquerie, and Cthulhu.
This book was good fun, and as usual, anything Fiona Staples touches is beautiful. The plot felt a little haphazard to me in places, and it didn't quite fully scratch the itch I was hoping for, but it's definitely worth a read.
Recommended if you enjoy a good mix of gore and humor, Lovecraftian horror, Welcome to Night Vale, Walking Dead, and anything along those lines.
Recommended if you enjoy a good mix of gore and humor, Lovecraftian horror, Welcome to Night Vale, Walking Dead, and anything along those lines.
An' that's when it all done went t' hell'n'gone. Ain't a soul what remembers what gone on that night. Conover County never had much in the way o' notable hist'ry past when the North an' the South came lookin' for conscripts. Well, outside o' the odd police report. But anyhow... Ain't a soul what remembers what gone on that night. Ain't a soul alive what don't remember the NEXT day... an' all the ones what came after, each night fallin' like the lid on a casket.
I grabbed this during an Amazon flash sale purely due to the fact the artwork is done by [a:Fiona Staples|304633|Fiona Staples|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1379339265p2/304633.jpg], albeit prior to her [b:Saga, Compendium One|44313716|Saga, Compendium One|Brian K. Vaughan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642909357l/44313716._SY75_.jpg|68854724] fame.
The story has strong Lovecraft vibes as it sees curious students uncover a mysterious ancient text in their library. Upon reading the incantations they unleash hell upon their small town. Causing the locals to develop strange new powers, there are those who want to embrace the darkness and those who will band together to stand in its way.
Obviously it is incredibly well drawn but the story itself felt poorly paced, with gaps in the narrative which caused some confusion in places. Overall 3 1/2 stars.
I grabbed this during an Amazon flash sale purely due to the fact the artwork is done by [a:Fiona Staples|304633|Fiona Staples|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1379339265p2/304633.jpg], albeit prior to her [b:Saga, Compendium One|44313716|Saga, Compendium One|Brian K. Vaughan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642909357l/44313716._SY75_.jpg|68854724] fame.
The story has strong Lovecraft vibes as it sees curious students uncover a mysterious ancient text in their library. Upon reading the incantations they unleash hell upon their small town. Causing the locals to develop strange new powers, there are those who want to embrace the darkness and those who will band together to stand in its way.
Obviously it is incredibly well drawn but the story itself felt poorly paced, with gaps in the narrative which caused some confusion in places. Overall 3 1/2 stars.
I'm not a big Lovecraft fan in the sense that I go out of my way to expose myself to the kinds of otherworldly horrors he helped create, but I do like small town westerns and I love Fiona Staples' artwork, so this was a no brainer for me.
A quick read with amazing artwork.
A quick read with amazing artwork.
Only reason to read this was to see Fiona Staples artwork.
Set in Honkeyville, USA. Isn't this tired story played out by now? If not for the environment setting, it could have gotten a higher rating.
Set in Honkeyville, USA. Isn't this tired story played out by now? If not for the environment setting, it could have gotten a higher rating.
There was a lot going on here and I didn't totally get all of it. Monsters, witches, ancient evil, and a cameo by Jordy Verrill (who honestly doesn't get enough work these days), all more or less watched over by an even older and more rugged Tommy Lee Jones. But as always with the art of the fabulous Fiona Staples, you don't have to understand it to have a good time.
Gosh. That was a whole lot packed into one small comic. Passes the Bechdel Test. Unfortunately contains non-ironic r-word use and ableist language. But my goodness it was fun.
Read this in one sitting. I only stopped long enough to warm up my coffee. Fantastic book. Very well-written. The art was great; it reminded me a bit of umbrella academy or hellboy. I highly recommend this if you have any interest in a modern day Lovecraft story with superheroes.
North 40 imagines an incursion of Lovecraft-inspired monsters into a small hick town, prompted when two friends, a goth and a jock, decide to open a Necronomicon-like book. Within the span of only a couple of days, various townspeople are turned into zombies, giants and fish-people while others gain super powers. An unlikely group of heroes must work together using magic and strength to send Cthulhu back where he came from.
The art, by the always-fabulous and imaginative Fiona Staples, is the reason to get this book. She manages to create the perfect atmosphere on every page, whether that's comedic, vaguely eerie, bizarre, and/or downright terrifying.
Aaron Williams' writing had a lot of potential. He writes the (extremely bizarre) story's narration as if it was being read by a folksy, southern-accented Garrison Keillor type, and it works!
Unfortunately the story feels squeezed - like it was supposed to go for longer than the six issues but had to be cut short. So much weird is introduced in the beginning and it doesn't all get a satisfactory resolution. I'm sad this didn't make it into being a longer series because I think, given more time and space starting around Issue 3, it could've been truly great.
The art, by the always-fabulous and imaginative Fiona Staples, is the reason to get this book. She manages to create the perfect atmosphere on every page, whether that's comedic, vaguely eerie, bizarre, and/or downright terrifying.
Aaron Williams' writing had a lot of potential. He writes the (extremely bizarre) story's narration as if it was being read by a folksy, southern-accented Garrison Keillor type, and it works!
Unfortunately the story feels squeezed - like it was supposed to go for longer than the six issues but had to be cut short. So much weird is introduced in the beginning and it doesn't all get a satisfactory resolution. I'm sad this didn't make it into being a longer series because I think, given more time and space starting around Issue 3, it could've been truly great.
The art is SO, SO SO good, but the story is fairly weak. The narrative is completely fragmented and the characters are static and boring.