Randy and Don venture into the Strange Embrace of a graphic novel from lettering giant Comicraft.
Randy:
Everyone is familiar with Richard Starkings, head of the ubiquitous lettering house Comicraft, but they may not be as familiar with Active Images, the publishing side of Comicraft. Thus far, the company has produced two issues of Hip Flask, a beautifully illustrated science-fiction tale based on the Comicraft mascot, but this week, Don and I will take a look at their newest releases, a pair of graphic novels under the Active Images Gold imprint.
Don:
In this review, Randy and I examine Strange Embrace, which was originally published by Tundra as a limited series. To be honest, I hadn't heard of it before, but I'm pleased it's been rescued from obscurity. This dark tale of madness and the supernatural will appeal to fans of such comics as Hellblazer and such writers as Alan Moore, Warren Ellis and Peter Milligan (the latter provides the introduction to this new collected volume).
Strange Embrace
written and illustrated by David Hinepublisher by Active Images
Don:
A strange and corrupt young man lures a local teenage boy into the strange world hidden away in an urban cellar. The strange man, Alex, tells the boy two stories. First is his own, of a growing harshness in his soul during his childhood and of his special abilities. Alex can peer into the minds of others, and that's how he came to learn the second story. It is the tale of another strange man named Anthony Corbeau. Anthony was born into wealth and forced into the family business. That led to a fascination with African artwork and a spiral down into madness... a family tradition, as it turns out.
Randy:
If this is an indication of the kinds of things that Active Images is going to be publishing, my only question is: When do we get more? Strange Embrace is a creepy, engaging story of madness and corruption that unfolds in four chapters, each one focused on a different character but interweaving with the other characters at the same time, and it gave me goosebumps. Hine's story plays around with the horror of the human mind, as the characters succumb to temptations, obsession, foolish optimism or what just seems to be an inner streak of wickedness. The picture he paints of humanity is a dark one, and not always an easy one to look at, but it is completely fascinating.
Don:
Strange Embrace deliciously dark and disturbing. Alex and Anthony are horrific characters, and what makes them so isn't the powers or unconventional obsessions. Anthony is a scary individual because his emotional isolation takes an understandable toll on those around him, and Alex is a chilling figure not because he can invade a person's most private of places -- the mind -- but because he delights in inflicting pain on others.
The most clever aspect of the book is the story-within-a-story approach that Hine takes. It makes for challenging and intriguing parallels and contrasts. Alex and Anthony both boasts similar appearances; they have angular faces and awkward, rake-thin figures. But there's a sharp difference in their looks as well. Anthony is forever a child, twisted and warped by his own madness and inability to connect with others. Alex, on the other hand, is clearly a monster. Even as an innocent child, there's a sharp harshness in his face, a burning hatred in his eyes for everyone and everything around him. Alex is a predator, whereas Anthony is prey, hunted down by his own mental illness. Both are neglected children, but the neglect takes different forms and stems from different motives.
Randy:
Hine has clearly mastered the more important notions of horror, knowing when to build and when to reveal the horrific secrets. It's easy to guess at what happened between Edward and Sarah during the second chapter, but all the more horrifying when we see it in all its detail in the third and fourth. The horror of a murdered child and a suicidal bride is strong enough, but it becomes all that much stronger when we see the truth of the matter near the end. And Corbeau's obsession and descent into madness is likewise a tragedy, but it becomes even moreso when the reader meets his mother for the first time and learns more of the root cause of his derangement. Hine weaves a tapestry of broken childhood, corrupted adulthood and crumbling lives together into a wicked and twisted narrative, and the sinister, pessimistic air that hangs over the story is helped considerably by the dark, sociopathic nature of the psychic narrator, who is himself involved in the story fairly deeply as well.
Don:
Hines's artwork holds up just as well as his script. There's a stark, even crude quality to the visuals, but it suits the ugly nature of the characters and stories. I'm reminded of Peter (JSA, Starman) Snejbjerg's work, that of Peter (Lucifer) Gross and Kevin (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) O'Neill as well. The black-and-white format doesn't hold him back at all. The inky quality of the art reinforces the gothic tone of the story, and Hine is able to convey a number of supernatural effects that many creators would leave to computer-enhanced coloring work.
Randy:
It's hard for me to pin down Hine's art style with easy comparisons. The shadows and mood remind me of Mike Mignola, the elongated and angular character designs of Teddy Kristiansen and the effective backgrounds of Jason Lutes or Seth. It's perfect for the book, full of dark shapes and sharp edges, and the haunting face of the African mask that turns out to be so important to the story, justifying its haunting visage on the cover, is one of the stronger examples of Hine's sense of design.
Strange Embrace is a gripping read, and it's a story that will almost certainly continue to haunt me in the dark and quiet moments of life. I'd rank it with Uzumaki as one of the few truly scary horror comics out there, and I think the industry owes Active Images a big thank you for bringing this forgotten treasure back into print.
For more information on Strange Embrace and Active Images, visit
