By Melissa Antoinette Garza
I received an offer to review an Indie comic book entitled Camping. It was a horror story written by Mike Eshelman and illustrated by Alex Levasseur. I was a little apprehensive as I had never reviewed a comic before. I have read my fair share of graphic novels and definitely see the appeal. Though, my husband is more fluent than I am in this respect; I have probably read more than the average gal.
A few of my favorite graphic novels include V for Vendetta, The Watchmen, Swamp Thing and The Joker. As a horror fan, I always found the horror comics entertaining as well. The Tales from the Crypt were among my favorite growing up. Recently, I found a few of The Twilight Zone ones at a discount store. They basically just illustrated some of the greatest episodes like Monsters Are Due on Maple Street. I was impressed with how well it translated over to that medium.
To be honest, I didn’t expect anything near that caliber for Camping. I didn’t go in with any expectations. I had been informed that this was both Eshelman’s and Levasseur’s first horror title. In effort to be fair, I had intended to take that into consideration when reviewing the work. I was going to focus on the positive while only mentioning areas that I found less than stellar as aspects that could be improved Surprisingly and refreshingly, it didn’t matter that this was their first. The comic was so well done that my reservations were unnecessary.
The story begins when we see three friends sitting by a campfire with beers in their hands. The main character is very apologetic for getting the trio lost in the middle of nowhere. Words of reassurance are thrown his way, which helps him feel slightly better.
The topics one would expect from 3 average alpha-males are exactly the conversations held at the campsite. Complaints about lawyers and ex-wives, jobs and promotions, hunting and lack thereof are some of the subjects discussed.
Though only twenty pages, there is a very successful shift in tone throughout the comic. One moment, there is male bonding through immature gay jokes and then the next there is semi-soul searching. Remaining true to the alpha-male personal no one ever peers deeper than the surface.
The story is a quick read. The dialogue flows very naturally and the curiosity as to what is going to happen definitely makes it a page-turner.
The illustrations are fantastic and definitely succeed in their intended purpose of aiding in the storytelling.
The only improvement that I suggest is to use a different style of lettering as there are certain places where the dialogue is a little rough to see.
There are certain really cool elements that I would love to discuss within this review, however to do so would reveal the conclusion which I will not do. I will say that while reading there was an area that I considered a flaw. I thought that there was something very specific about the dialogue which made it seem as though an improvement was necessary. I was wrong. The ending actually explains this in an incredible way and thus made me realize what I thought was an error in judgment was actually an intelligent manner in which a subtle clue was presented. Bravo!
I sincerely look forward to any future endeavors by this great duo.
To purchase this comic for only $3.00, please support the author and artist by visiting http://bumscorner.com/DuskBunnies/?post_type=product.
Both physical and digital copies are available for purchase.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10
