SHUCK COMICS #1
"Hallowed Seasonings"
Recommended (8/10)
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Shuck Comics
Writers: Rick Smith &;amp Tania Menesse
Artist: Rick Smith
Price: $2.95 US/$3.50 CAN |
Shuck is a study in contrasts. It boasts a delightful innocence and a mature depth as well. It's a simple story about a simple soul, but the writers have a lot to say about humanity using bizarre, inhuman figures as their characters. Shuck is like nothing else you've ever read before.
Shuck is a demon living out a quiet life in suburban America. He wears a mask to hide his monstrous appearance, but on Halloween, he can wear his true face. His annual tradition is to host a Halloween party at his home, and thanks to his supernatural traits, it's well attended by the living and the dead alike. Sadly, the one guest Shuck wishes he would see -- his late wife, Gaia -- never shows up.
Despite the seemingly inherent darkness of the supernatural elements, Shuck boasts a light and innocent tone, and that dichotomous nature is reflected in the art as well. The character designs strike me as something that might arise from a collaboration between Jill Thompson and James Kochalka. The lettering is clear and easy to read, but it captures the oddball but fun nature of the dialogue as well.
Easily the greatest strength of the title is how the writers celebrate language by completely disregarding its rules. The dialogue in this book consists not of words, but of sounds. The phonetic approach to the script harkens back to the early days of comics and The Yellow Kid, and it adds an odd but genuine degree of fun to the reading process. The dialogue boasts a truly playful quality.
The creators have obviously put a lot of effort into making sure this comic book was done just right. The paper quality is unusual and even adds to the odd, symbolic mood of the story and art. Shuck is going to turn some heads in the indie comics community, no doubt, but boasts plenty of universal appeal so as to entertain those outside of that niche corner of the industry.
Note: Some comments in this review are reproduced from a previous feature on the website.
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