Miskatonic High 1 - 10 (and a bit more)

This past week has been a little bit different to what had been planned.

While a little bit of work had been done on some ideas I have working on at the start of the week, a combination of tiredness, overwork and familial duties, meant that any great strides I was expecting to do were quickly scuppered.

The same goes for the comics as my initial plan was to work through Superman Smashes the Klan. However, when unforeseen problems came into play, I was forced to postpone for a week and read something a little more digital.

Fortunately, I had access to a series which has been deserving my undivided for quite some time and now was rather fitting given that it currently was having a Kickstarter for its tenth issue.

Miskatonic High is a Lovecraftian style, supernatural horror series which focuses on a group of students (all of whom having some sort of supernatural connection all of their own) who, upon joining an extra-curricular club, find themselves battling a differing away of monsters, deities and warlocks in some Buffy the Vampire Slayer fashion while preparing to uncover the truth behind these events in the lead up to defeating the big bad.

(Well, I can only assume there is a big bad.)

Before writing this (and after reading), I went back and checked my original review of the first two issues. As I read it back to myself I realised just how much of the positives that I had noted were still very much prevalent in the comic by it's tenth installment. I found Miskatonic High to be a fun, quirky, almost satirical (because the series feels like it subverts or even mocks standard horror tropes) series which really played on the formula of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as it focused on a group of kids bending together to defeat monsters of the week, all the while learning more and more about some bigger villain and, in the process, themselves.

The thing is, as this series progresses, it started to feel more Umbrella Academy than Buffy as the characters were all so ... dysfunctional. Now this isn't a bad thing because, unlike in my original review, the characters are so incredibly filled out by the tenth issue, with none being entirely likeable but at the same time having some real depth to the them. I found myself really invested in how Mike Shea had depicted them, particularly Anton, the ghost of a kid who no longer exists (it's complicated), as he is greatly explored in a 0.5 issue (and that's the bit more).

Meanwhile, I love Ryan Mendoza's art, which still looks very similar to Morning Glories but with such a dark colour palette that i think it looks so stylish with its Lovecraftian vibe. It just looks gorgeous and clean and completely timeless, with the monsters looking classic but feeling new as well.

Reading Miskatonic High in its entirety over the last week has been a real joy for me and, I truly feel validates everything I had originally said all those months (maybe even years) ago when I reviewed their first two issues. It is truly a fun series that was definitely worth my time to read and i think will continue to be so for as long as Mike and Ryan make it.

So, if anyone actually reads what I I ramble, I'd suggest pledging to their Kickstarter as you can get the entire backlog (so far) for a good price that's definitely worth the money.

Oh, and before I forget ...

Of course, Miskatonic High was not the only comic I read this week. Midway through my read I was a able to acquire a copy of Hand Me Down, a new short comic story from TKO studios. I wont beat around the bush, this is a tremendously enjoyable comic. I thought that Alex Paknadel really put together a heartfelt story about a struggling marriage that, had all of the supernatural stuff been ripped out, would have gave been no less riveting. I found myself with a lot of questions by the end, particularly in regards to the final reveal (which I wont spoil for you in case you still haven't read it) and almost hoping for a sequel to find out what happens next.

meanwhile, Jen Hickman's art is perfect for this story, as their style (which very much reminds me of Cliff Chiang) really shows off the emotion and looks grounded but can really turn and give the more horror aspects a punch.

In short, I really think this is a horror one-shot done right and I'm a little sad that it ended there. it'll probably be on my list of recommendations for the top 50 in December (along with everything else this year it seems).

So that's another week (and change) done and, I'll be honest, I'm now starting to see the struggle of splitting my time between a blog, a website, the dream of my own comic and a real life. Therefore, I'll probably be MIA here while I catch up on some urgently needed (and deserved) reviews.

However, once those are caught up, I'll hopefully be able to get around to that dream analysis of Superman Smashes the Klan.