Green Wake Issue # 2 Written by Kurtis J. Wiebe with Art by Riley Rossmo and Published under the Shadowline banner of Image Comics
Written by Shaun Daniels and Edited by Sharon Wong
Green Wake is a godforsaken town you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy to even drive through but it is a fantastic place to read about if you like grisly murders. The inhabitants of this purgatory-like, stuck-in-time town ranges from the normal (if you can call them that) to monstrous-talking, froglike creatures, and just about everything in between. The story follows Morley Mack whose very last memory was of crashing his car and then ending up in Green Wake. Now, a detective, Mack is on the case of a series of horrific murders. With his hulking partner Krieger, the duo set off to solve the murders with the main suspect being the mysterious yet beautiful Ariel, and to maybe find a way out of town.
The second issue opens on yet another murder scene which at first glance, seems to be unconnected to the past murders, but Morley has a hunch that the gruesome murders are in fact, connected. After a brief encounter with junkies who are dispatched in a bone snapping manner, the two detectives venture off to examine the body of the previous murder victim whose body is being held by Ariel’s former lover, Carl. Identifying a matching symbol carved on that victim, it seems a serial killer is afoot. Carl, still defending his beloved, finds his appeal to Mack and Krieger to be in vain. Mack is visited by a ghost of his past and Carl finds himself visited by…well, it’s better to be read in the comic than to be explained here.
Wiebe is stretching his writing muscles on this issue by showing his range as a writer. He works a balancing act of not getting hung up on the murky waters of this complex story and providing a road map to navigate the story. Wiebe’s grasp of horror is frightening and translates well into this book.
An understatement would be to call Rossmo’s art both moody and atmospheric; it somehow transcends the art and will have you jumping out of your skin at the hint of a creak or other noises in your house. Rossmo’s scratchy penciling and exaggerated character design add to the creepiness of the book.
Do not, I repeat do not, book your flight to Green Wake asap or at all since flights only depart but never arrive there having crashed first. Instead spend the money and enjoy it from the safe confines of your house.
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Feedback is always welcomed at shaun@horrorhaven.com and sharon@horrorhaven.com
