Goners #2

 

Writer: Jacob Semahn
Pencils: Jorge Corona
Inks/Letters: Steve Wands
Colors: Gabriel Cassata
Publisher: Image Comics

 

Image Comics released a streak of brand new horror titles during the very appropriate month of October. Among them were Cutter, Wytches, Rasputin, and this title, Goners, which is arguably the most light-hearted of the bunch. That is if you call two young children watching their parents murdered by monsters on live television “light-hearted.”

The Latimer Family has been protecting mankind from the things that lurk in the shadows for generations, and it seems the monsters are finally trying to take them out once and for all. The newly orphaned Latimer children, Zoe and Josiah, take refuge at the Police Department with Detective McCarthy and the Latimer manservant and guardian, Francis. There’s no peace for the poor children though, because they’re already being overrun by more monsters intent on wiping out the Latimer bloodline.

The book starts out with a quick punch to the heart as we see just how far this brutal elimination of the Latimer Family will go. It lays some frightening precedents about what this attack might mean. Why are the monsters of the world attacking now? Why would they need the Latimers out of the way? Why are they suddenly all working together? After that initial scene, the story stumbles a bit, jumping from place to place as the last of the Latimers flee their would-be assassins. There’s plenty of action and a little too much chaos, but a couple cute jokes in the writing and the art keep the mood up. See? Light-hearted.

I would have liked to see a little more depth to the characters we’ve met so far. Francis is the archetypal Tough Guy bodyguard with stoic sense of humor and a heart of gold, and Zoe is a snarky older sister who steps up to the plate to protect her annoying little brother. Hopefully they build on a couple hooks they dropped in this issue and the characters all get a little more complex in coming months. The villains of the story are getting a decent treatment, at least in the issue extras. Writer Jacob Semahn (MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN) and artist Jorge Corona (TEEN TITANS GO!) have been finding inspiration from mythological creatures all over the world, introducing some that will be familiar and others that the average reader has probably never heard of before. Short descriptions of these creature origins are in the back of the issue for the curious reader.

Corona’s line work is stylized and quirky, which lends an interesting mood to this particular horror book. The colors add to that mood, as they’re bright and nuanced. Blood splatters are so red they almost glow, the black of night is varied in blues and greens, and light sources almost shine off the page. I suppose it’s appropriate that a story about darkness has so many shades of it. Give Goners a read if you’re fond of a little humor in your horror, or for the art that accompanies it.

Overall Score: 7/10