#407: Redfork

So, this post has turned out to be one of those 'victim of my own success' type deals.

Not being one particularly known for my patience (no matter how much I preach it to my kids), my decision not to wait until the end of the week to put up my post on Bigger Fish completely threw my week out of whack, causing me to muck up my schedule. As a result, this usual Friday post barely managed to make this Friday, if only thanks to my youngest unwillingness to sleep. It also meant that my planned read for the week wasn't replaced with something shorter and, boy, am I glad that wasn't the case.

I read TKO's Redfork, which told the story of Noah McGlade, who after 6 years in the slammer for robbing and attacking the local dentist, returns to his hometown which is struggling with unemployment and drug abuse. However, this isn't Noah's most pressing concern as he comes back to a family where his mother hates him, his father circles the drain and the daughter he's never met struggles with health issues as her mother fights addiction. But when an explosion erupts in the local coal mine, with Noah's brother trapped within, it releases an ancient evil which rises up with its eyes set on the town and its people.

Now I'm a big fan of TKO both in terms of their output and their sales strategy (for want of a better description). Having read the first issues of each of TKO's first and second wave titles (and having reviewed those issues of Sentient, the Banks, Pound for Pound and Eve of Extinction) as well as a review for the short story Hand Me Down, it's fair to say that I'm a big admirer of a large portion of their titles.

However, beyond Hand Me Down, I have yet to read a single story in its entirety. Redfork was my first full TKO Graphic Novel and I really, Really liked this. I found myself absolutely hooked from the get go as I got drawn into this story about a man making mistakes in order to take care of his family and his facing insurmountable odds to save them despite their ambivalence towards him. On the surface, the story came across as very Lovecraftian in it's horror (it certainly rung bells of a more mature Locke and Key) and made me think of a more supernatural version of the James Gunn film Slither (right down to the once human figurehead and the gluttonous acolytes).

The thing I really like about this series was most probably the characters and their interactions, particularly the lead character of Noah. Despite his slew of poor choices and decisions throughout this story, I really considered Noah as an intriguing character, one who seemed to value his family above all else and worked hard to protect them (albeit in the wrong way). As a result, I found it rather heartbreaking (if not deserved) of his treatment throughout the early chapters as he struggled to make right for all that his jail time had wrought. Of course, that isn't to say that Noah was the hero of the piece as, far from it, I considered him merely the protagonist or master of ceremony. No, in Redfork, I really thought that D-Ray was the hero and it was his story told through the eyes of Noah.

Like I said though, the characters, plural, were what made this story for me and this is definitely the case. I don't think there were any bad characters, especially with GallowGlass, who I found oddly compelling given his own grey area-esque raison d'etre. I was curious though about a couple of things like why did he not use his real name and was he really the prisoner of the entity who had been converted or was he simply a human embodiment of the big bad. Anyway, the McGlade clan, while not wholly fleshed out, were also intriguing for their dynamics with Noah, particularly Cody whose 'debt' with his big brother seemed to transcend his later 'obligations' to GallowGlass. In fact, I think the only weak character throughout the story was that of Jane Paisley, who seemed to me like she was little more than a source of exposition, there to bring Noah, D-Ray and the readers up to date when the time came.

As for the art, I really liked Nil Vendrell's style which was really solid work. What sold it for me though was the really creepy and unsettling place it went to, more and more as the story progressed. Chief among these were the layout of the cave system (particularly the latter rendition), the appearance of Unity as she woke her daughter and, most definitely, the scene showing the priest, Father Rawls, succumbing to Gallowglass's 'influence'. There was one scene though which I found a little confusing and that was Noah's conversation around a sinkhole which, being laid out differently than normal comic reading, really had me struggle to follow what was going on for a moment. However, I suspect that was more my inability to adapt rather than any other reason.

I've rambled on (just for a change) maybe a little longer than I had planned but I guess this helps confirm my feelings that Redfork was an utterly enthralling comic series. By the end I do have questions still in my head such as was the dentist from the beginning amongst the 'workers' in the caves (because that might have been a cool scene for Noah to have to face) and were all of the 'workers' implied to be in those caves at the end or is it just one? But, regardless, I'm more than happy with how it started, how it ended and everything in between and am certainly glad I didn't wait too long after having picked it up (compared to other comics) before I read it.

I guess it now gives me more incentive to invest in some of TKO series.

Oh, and Before I Forget ...

I wrote a review for Pipedream Comics about Vault Comics' Barbaric #1 this week and, I'll be honest, I don't know what I was expecting with this comic, but it was not for it to be as incredible read as it was. I absolutely loved this first issue from Michael Moreci, Nathan Gooden and Co. Though, I did think that the story was pretty light (given it was all about the set up and the story proper didn't really occur until the end) but this was more than made up by the Awesome buddy comedy angle of Owen and Axe, whom I thought were a hilarious pair.

Meanwhile, I equally loved the art in this, which I thought was just so gorgeous. Gooden's pencils along with Addison Duke's colours made me think a little of Conan and John Carter (mainly the films) just for the dry, desert vibe it gave me, but it vibed as such a visceral look and I really dug it as a result. In short though, I thought that this opening instalment was a phenomenal issue and, as a result, is probably going to end up convincing me to pick up the trade for my shelf. It's THAT good!!

I also spent some time this week reading Marvel Action Avengers #1-3, which I picked up during a recent Comixology Buy 1 Get 1 Free deal so I could read them with my son. The plot of this three issue arc saw AIM brainwash a captured Iron Man to work for them as the rest of the Avengers battle both AIM and their comrade in order to save him.

Much like with Marvel Action Black Panther and Thor & Loki, I found that I really enjoyed these issues. To be honest, I expected the plot to be too kiddish for my tastes but it actually seemed a lot darker than that (although not terribly dark, because it is an little ages comic). I really need to stop getting into that mindset for all-ages Comics like these, but it's still nice to be surprised like i was here.

However, the art didn't do it for me, sadly. It was OK, but it just wasn't my thing as it just seemed rough and a little haphazard. That said, my oldest had no complaints, so I guess it's just an age/experience thing. Overall though, these issues were still a good read and a fun use of time, although I suspect I'll be reading them more than once as my son considered them 5 star material.

So, there is another week (well, half week) done. Of course, that wasn't all that went down because I also managed to get another page of my current script project hammered out. Of course, I had hoped to get more out of the way too but it brings the grand total up to two pages in total and so the only way is up (or forward?)!

Hopefully, next week will be more productive on the scripting front, although planning to write only one blog post might help with that.

Although, I still have so much to read ...