Come Find Me: An Autumnal Offering - Graphic Novel Review

I do love a good anthology series. Over the past few years, I have reviewed Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Love, Death and Robots, Hammer House of Horrors and many more besides on this very website. However, anthology comic books have had a trickier path to follow as the received wisdom has been that there isn’t a market for it anymore… or is there?

I recently started to read Hello Darkness, which is published by those fine fiends at Boom! who seem to specialise in the horror, sci-fi and mystery genres. At the time of writing (Jan 2025) it has 7 issues and seems to be going strong.

When writer and artist Becky Cloonan, who I have followed since Demo days, through to By Chance or Providence, Gotham Academy and, more recently, the multi-Eisner award winning Somna, mentioned that she was working with DSTLRY to create a one-shot horror anthology book called Come Find Me featuring a variety of creatives, my interest was piqued and I promptly ordered a copy from my local comic shop.

With anthologies, variety is a key strength that keeps you interested as you get a diversity of voices, genre-bending and find hidden gems of stories and artists. In this book, there are 6 stories to delight and horrify:

Devil's Trill- A young man becomes fascinated by and opera singer but are his intentions pure? No. No they're not.

Portorium- When grave robbers disturb a corpse, a young lady the penny intended for Charon so he exacts revenge.

Down by the Water- A man struggles to get over the death of his beloved, who drowned. But

Coal and Clover- When a union man is killed by his bosses his wife takes revenge against the company but there is a heavy price to pay.

La Cheta- I'm not gonna lie; I didn't quite understand this story totally. As far as I can make it, in a small village a new teacher comes along and people start to die by some evil presence. I'm not sure if she is the killer or if it's some malevolent other force.

The Warmth of the Hunt- When an intensely passionate relationship falls apart the consequences are fatal.

Obviously, taste is subjective but there were a couple of standouts for me; Portorium by Becky Cloonan, Lee Loughridge and Pat Brousseau, told a Medieval gothic horror tale warning you about what happens when you try to cheat the ferryman, Charon. Over the course of just several pages, you get a chilling tale about what guilt does to the psyche and it's presented beautifully with Cloonan's distinctive gothic style.

The other tale that got me was the mythic folk horror Coal and Clover which looks at the price of exacting revenge. You know it isn't going to end well but the price exacted is too heavy for any parent to bear.

The book is beautifully printed on good paper stock and the colours pop off the page in between the pitch black places. The artwork is consistent brilliant and has a variety of styles, the most impressive for me being Cloonan's and E. M. Carroll's, whose artistry is really something special and appeals to my style.

Overall, I had an excellent hour or so marveling at the artwork and creativity on show here and look forward to other seasons, if that becomes a thing.

Hello Darkness- Comic Series Review

I love anthology series myself, having reviewed Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Love, Death and Robots, Hammer House of Horrors, Junji Ito's Maniac and many more besides on this very website. However, anthology comic books have had a trickier path to follow as the received wisdom has been that there isn’t a market for it anymore… or is there?

I heard of Hello Darkness, published by those fine fiends at Boom! who seem to specialise in the horror, sci-fi and mystery genres, from writer and artist Becky Cloonan on her Insta. I have followed her work since her Demo days, through By Chance or Providence to Gotham Academy and, more recently, the multi-Eisner award winning Somna. Generally, when she speaks I listen and she has yet to steer me wrong in comics. I met her about a decade ago in Orbital Comics in London and she signed my hardback of By Chance or Providence. I also have a moody limited number signed print too which I bought from Gosh! about 10 years ago. So when she mentioned that there was going to be a monthly horror anthology series with a rotating carousel of creatives my interest was piqued. With anthologies, variety is a key strength that keeps you interested as you get a diversity of voices, genre-bending and find hidden gems of stories and artists.

At the time of writing, just two comics have been released but I do have to say that they are just as wonderful as I imagined the to be.

#1 had a smorgasbord of talent including James Tynion IV, Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan herself. We have 7 stories, 5 of which are short and complete and two that seem to be ongoing concerns. Contagious is the story of kids turning against adults in a horrific way whilst Stay in Your Lane is about a one-time pro bowler who goes full Falling Down crazy when he is passed over by professional bowling scouts. The two continuing stories are The War Part One about the current geo-political issues going on in the world and the fear that nuclear annihilation is close whilst Something is Killing the Children: A Monster Hunter Walks into a Bar Part One has a mysterious woman walk into a bar after a bus fails to show up. She hears about the strange case of children killing their parents and hunkers down at the bar for the night.

#2 has a few creatives I do not know but their works are still impressive. The Clown by Azam Raharjo is a Junji Ito like tale of a malevolent party clown who entrances children Pied Piper style. We also have Stargazers by Frederik Hornung, a tale of two adults meeting up through an online dating app only to reveal their true monstrous selves. Apocalypse in Slow Motion by Wes Craig is a biting satire of late state capitalism and the blood price that will have to be paid by the elites once things start to go wrong. Finally, The War Part Two continues the story of a geouo of friends deciding what to do after the Russia-Britain nuclear war.

Overall, I really enjoyed the comic as it was like a selection box of goodies. There was a little bit of everything but the highlights for me were the stories I have highlighted but Im sure another reviewer would have a different opinion. I cannot wait to see what else in store as the series continues and the talent pool gets ever wider.

Somna: A Bedtime Story (for adults) - Graphic Novel Series Review

I have loved Becky Cloonan's artwork since Demo and By Chance Or By Providence, which I have a signed copy of. I had a chance to meet her several years ago at Orbital Comics in London and she was wonderfully gracious as she signed the graphic novels and several of my Gotham Academy books. I also have a signed print from her and, which my wife isn't a fan of as it looks quite emo, but I love her gothic horror influenced style which is sexy and exciting.

When I heard that Cloonan was working with another artist to create an erotic gothic horror book I was in. At the time, I was not aware of Tula Lotay but, having read the Somna series, I really do appreciate her painterly ethereal style which complements Cloonan's extremely well... It really is a dream team.

The story of Somna is quite simple: In an English village in Stuart times, around 400 years ago, a young woman named Ingrid is married to a sexually repressed witch hunter. Whilst he is constantly on the lookout for witches and kills many women, Ingrid is left with repressed desires that manifests in nightmares. Her childhood friend Maja, a strong and independent woman, supports Ingrid and helps her as best she can but the Shadow Man from Ingrid's nightmares seems to be gaining power and influence over her. Can Ingrid survive the paranoia of the era and prevent herself from being cast as a witch?

Somna is a very effective read as it carries the themes of much folk horror; a person who is not a part of the community finding out about the horrors that exist within the community. What makes Somna so interesting is that Ingrid, the protagonist is from the community but doesn't feel like she is a part of it as she has suppressed desires as her husband is not fulfilling his husbandly duties so she is repressed. This creates a space for a darker force to exert its influence over her. The story of female subjugation and abuse by the patriarchy is an old one but the backdrop of the witch trials is a good one as it looks at how society blames the powerless and weak through methods of social control.

I loves the 3 part comic series as it is stunningly beautiful with lyrical layouts that make you swoon over the artistry on show. Cloonan takes the lead on the main scenes but Lotay's dream scenes complement the work as they oresnrt the Shadow Man gaining in power and influence over Ingrid.

The story is powerful and incredibly erotic but in the best possible way. This is definitely for adults but is tasteful and classy in its erotica - think Company of Wolves, Midsommer, The Witch or The Witchfinder General (which they cite as influences)  rather than Urotsokidoji and you'll get the idea. This book is a big recommend from me.