I'm pleased to see that the folks at Moonstone Books are offering some more affordable titles these days, embracing the more traditional comic-book format, even for standalone one-shots such as this one. This comic is a horror anthology that follows a theme... at least, it tries to follow it. Two of the three stories take on the "sea creatures" theme a bit loosely, to be honest. The storytelling is fairly standard... amusing at times, but a bit predictable as well. There's potential in the concept, though, but where the book really needs to be strengthened in in its visual component. The art is a bit rough.
A young man teases his summer-camp girlfriend about a frightening legend of a man-sized frog with a penchant for decapitation, and both are horrified to discover that there is some truth to the old ghost story. Elsewhere, a man sneaks into his boss's office in order to fudge paperwork and steals from the company, and the onl witness to his crime is a lone goldfish, swimming in its bowl. Elsewhere still, a man awakens on a boat in the middle of nowhere, apparently threatened by the thrashing of a seemingly gigantic ocean-dwelling creature.
The first segment -- Raab's story -- is the most fun because it's very much in the tradition of teen, B-movie horror flicks. Summer camps, horny teenagers and a bloodthirsty monster lurking outside... what more could one want? It's an understandably light piece, though, given the limited length. And the amphibious antagonist -- though funny and campy -- just doesn't seem to exude the appropriate level of menace. Furthermore, the art, while effective in establishing a tense mood, is a bit too inky at times, making it difficult to discern what's going on.
There's a surreal and creepy tone to the second story that sees a goldfish transformed into an imposing figure of vengeance simply because the reader expects as much from the book's format and the unsettling, grey tone of the artwork. It's quite effective, but the effect is lost by the end of the plot by a physical manifestation of what was initially just one man's paranoia. It robbed the story of its impact, to be honest. I thought the horror worked better on a purely paranoid, psychological level. The art is fairly standard, clear but not terribly remarkable either.
The final story is a confusing one, and it doesn't really fit in with the overall theme of the book. Gentile takes far too big a leap from one horrific menace to a bizarre, horrific fate for the story's hopeless protagonist. Honestly, the story makes little sense, and the artwork lacks clarity and scope as well.
Overall, this anthology is cute and even a bit of campy fun, but there's far more potential in the concept. Stronger plotting and stronger artwork is really called for here.
Note: This comic book was not among this week's new releases.
