Parasocial
Alex de Campi, writer; Scott Henderson, artist
Image Comics, 2023

A story straight out of Stephen King’s novel Misery, but this time the protagonist is a fading genre-TV actor instead of a novelist. The graphic novel begins at a comics convention in the middle of the pandemic. Luke Indiana (who pointedly is not wearing a mask) is there to sign autographs for fans of Rogue Nebula, the cult favorite science fiction TV show he starred in. The fans he meets run the gamut from starstruck to obnoxious, but he gamely makes it through the day (including photo ops in a glass booth with a divider, a very Covid touch). He has car trouble on his way home but accepting help from a fan he saw at the con earlier turns out to be the beginning of a nightmarish evening. He awakens tied to a chair in her kitchen, and things go downhill from there.  His attempt to seduce her quickly turns violent, with both of them spiraling out of control. It’s an emotional and physical roller-coaster ride, thrilling right up to the end (followed by a gentle coda). In her afterword de Campi reveals that the story started as a joke, inspired by the Marvel Comics editor who published manga-style superhero comics under a pseudonym. Not the most original idea, certainly, but an exciting read, aided by Henderson’s energetic depiction of the action.

Phantom Road Vol. 1
Jeff Lemire, writer; Gabriel Hernández Walta, artist; Jordie Bellaire, colorist
Image Comics, 2023

Long-haul trucker Dom encounters Birdie on the road at night after she has been in a massive car crash. When they retrieve a strange artifact from the wreckage everything shifts and they find themselves in a surreal new world. It is suddenly daylight, and they encounter a gaunt, faceless figure who attacks Dom. After taking out a whole crowd of the creatures they continue driving through an unfamiliar bleak, barren landscape. Entering a truck stop, they turn around and see the real world through the windows. A man in the diner explains that they are in a place between places, or a place that leads to other places; and their goal is to deliver their cargo (the artifact) to a place called Golgotha. Outside everything looks normal, but they find that they cannot leave the truck. An FBI agent named Theresa Weaver has been investigating the situation, and appears to have a connection from her youth that she barely remembers. Birdie tries to escape the situation by hitting the artifact with a hammer, which only reveals that it is an egg. Agent Weaver finds her contact reassigned, and the man from the diner gives instructions to her new superior officer. This story looked like it could be done in a single collection (like the Sentient series from these creators), but clearly the story has only begun.

House of Slaughter Vol. 2: Scarlet
James Tynion IV, series development; Sam Johns, writer; Letizia Cadonici, illustrator; Francesco Segala, colorist
BOOM! Studios, 2022

Edwin Slaughter is a member of the Scarlet Masks, the scribes of the Order of St. George. He prides himself on keeping the history of hunters of the past, but has no desire to become a hunter himself. Then he is assigned to report on an incident at an overnight camp off Lake Michigan. It is a solo assignment, because hunters have become hard to spare since Erica went AWOL (back in the main Something is Killing the Children series). Campers have been reporting various eye problems, and the Order is concerned that a monster might be born out of their speculation and fear. Arriving at the campground, Edwin talks to the camper who lost an eye to see if he sees a monster (we also learn that Edwin’s monster totem is his paintbrush, named Hermes). Things get strange from here. Edwin stays on the boat in Lake Michigan, unable to get back to shore. His history with Hermes goes back to his mother’s traumatic death at the hands of the monster. Out on the lake he confronts the huge dragon who lives under the water. The boat is lost, and he somehow makes it back to the House of Slaughter–where he retires his brush and asks for reassignment to morgue duty. His handlers fear that something even worse is coming. It is unusual for a monster story to be so abstract, which makes it hard to follow at times. I can’t blame the art team. They created an impressionist world that mirrors Edwin’s painting style: evocative and moody, with flashes of violence.