It's clear after two issues that Mnemovore is going to live or die on its conclusion. If Rodionoff and Fawkes can avoid the obvious danger of an ending that is too ambiguous or in some other way unsatisfying, though, this could prove to be one of the best miniseries of the year. Certainly the two issues so far, blending stories about amnesia, monsters lurking in the shadows and the danger of advertising and memes, have presented some fascinating characters and even more fascinating ideas. It's the kind of big idea science fiction that Grant Morrison or Huddleston's other collaborator, Phil Hester, have done so well, leaving the reader trying to figure out what's going on even as their mind drinks in the possibilities of the ideas that the creators are putting forth. Speaking of Huddleston, while I usually prefer his work in black and white, his color work here is pretty impressive, reminiscent of DC's Focus line with more lush colors and perfectly suited to this story.
The beauty of Mnemovore is that it manages to be strange and out there while remaining insidiously relatable. Sure, most of us don't deal with squid monsters living in our brains, but everyone knows the frustration of being unable to call up a memory, or the increased temper that comes with being tired and over-worked. Rodionoff and Fawkes couch their notion of some kind of memory-eating monster in terms that the reader can easily relate to, as a former snowboarder tries to recover from a near-fatal accident or an ad executive and his wife bicker after a disastrous speech at a public function. There's a nice tinge of conspiracy/paranoia running through it as well, especially in the executive's crazy-sounding speech.
Mnemovore is a horror book in the best sense of the word, steering clear of gore or the pacing shocks that often substitute for real horror in any number of mediums and instead just leaving the reader with an uneasy feeling. I'm just as sure that nothing is eating my memories as I am that zombies aren't going to run down my street at 2 a.m. when I go to put the trash out. I'm also just as freaked out by the notion that something is there as I am likely to glance slowly down the street at 2 a.m., half expecting an army of the walking dead to be coming down the block. Mnemovore presents us with realistic characters having unreal experiences, and the result is an uneasy, creeped-out feeling that is delicious to this horror fan, especially when it comes with a fascination as to what the mystery storyline actually is.
Too often in horror comics, the approach is to go with a scratchy, overly shadowy approach that is meant to heighten mood but instead just heightens confusion. That isn't the case with Mnemovore, as Huddleston brings a style with character-based realism reminiscent of everyone from Steve Rolston to Michael Gaydos, and he really captures the disturbing moments of sudden nosebleeds or shaking hands as reality fades a little bit or comes into too sharp a focus for Kaley or Mike. Though Huddleston is excellent at the human character interaction, his strongest work for me in the past has been on the world of the strange in The Coffin or Deep Sleeper, and his design for the monster here is no exception, a painted collection of tentacles, eyes and teeth that serves to really creep the reader out. Jeromy Cox also uses a terrific color palette, not shying away from the blues and grays that inform the darker moments but presenting us with bright, sunlit locations like the mountain as well.
I'm always nervous about books like this, because the balance between "moody and mysterious" and "bizarre and disappering up its own ass" is tricky, and I don't have enough experience with Rodionoff or Fawkes in the past to know if they can carry it off. With two issues down, though, Mnemovore is looking like a pretty great little horror series that is very much off-the-beaten path not just for Vertigo but for comics in general, a worthy counterpart to the underrated (but spectacularly great) gems Huddleston has collaborated on in the past, Deep Sleeper and The Coffin. 9/10
