The Devil's Footprints it the first in what seems like a small, loosely grouped line of new creator-owned horror comics from Dark Horse, and it's a good starting point. Allie has created a concept that has some of the family elements of Starman, combined with the secret world of magic of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a creepy, foreboding tone that is all its own. Taking off from the old saw "the sins of the father will be visited upon the child," The Devil's Footprints explores the fallout of the death of a sorcerer who consorted with dark powers, and explores what his two sons, one a believer and the other definitely not, will do when they have to deal with that fallout.
There's an interesting approach to sorcery and demons taken in The Devil's Footprints. In many ways, it's subtle and dark, the way magic is often depicted in the real world, made up of ancient languages and hard-to-pronounce names but light on the pyrotechnics and actual effects. And then you've got actual magic as well, such as the old family friend who summons a small demonic being to channel his rage. Allie's take on magic is reminiscent of the take that Joss Whedon has introduced in the latter seasons of Buffy, a powerful force that can corrupt subtly or be used for flashy effects, depending on the whims of the wielder.
It's the more subtle effects that are scary here, actually. It's easy to relate to mysterious illness, and the idea of having a worsening flu with magical cause is certainly frightening. To most of us, medicine is a mystery anyway, and having an illness is frightening, it's not difficult to imagine how much more it would be if the doctors seemed as baffled as we were. And as someone who has a wife pregnant with our first daughter, the tragedy that befalls Dexter's wife hit home pretty effectively with me as well. The difficulties are rooted in the real, in physical illnesses, but their magical origins make them more scary, more creepy.
I became a fan of Paul Lee's artwork when I first saw his work on Fused, and his work looks equally terrific here. Usually, I find that I prefer a bit more ambiguity in my horror comics, along the lines of Ben Templesmith or Bill Sienkiewicz, but Lee, Horton and Stewart manage to be absolutely clear and readable while still maintaining a spooky tone. The chiseled, realistic look of the various characters helps to establish the real, and it's that reality that makes the horror elements more scary and more believable.
The Devil's Footprints is a story with many layers, including spook story, mystery and family drama. Those of you who know Allie only from his editing work or his occasional Star Wars and other licensed property writing are in for a treat. With books like 30 Days of Night garnering so much heat and new offerings like The Devil's Footprints coming out, we may see a resurgence of the horror genre in comics like we did with the crime genre a few years back.
