Frightmare City – Comic Review
Those who know me, know I love a good horror comic. When I received an email asking me to take a look at Frightmare City I was intrigued. And boy am I glad I looked.
First up, The Pitch
“Never ride the subway. Never leave midtown Manhattan. Stay inside after dark – no matter what!”
Frightmare City is a monthly crime-horror hybrid comic from award-winning writer and filmmaker, AC Turner.
Recently, AC discovered “Welcome To Fear City”, a long forgotten pamphlet distributed by the NYPD. In it, a Hooded Death’s Head warned readers to “Stay away from New York” as authorities grappled with uncontrollable violence that left the city teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
Reading the pamphlet, AC thought “what if”?
What if “Welcome To Fear City” was actually a thinly veiled warning against something more sinister than conventional crime. Something more evil. Something that even the Police themselves couldn’t handle.
With this in mind, AC began crafting his own nightmarish version of New York. A city where crimes are perpetrated and punished each in their own horrible way.
Welcome to Frightmare City. Population… you.
The Basics
Frightmare City currently exists as a series of monthly short horror comics which you can find for free online at www.frightmarecity.com. According to writer AC Turner, the plan is to bring the current web strips together as a collected trade paperback once the first volume is complete. There are currently 3 issues available, with 5 more in the pipeline. I’ve seen January’s issue and it is quite possibly the best one yet, so I can’t wait to see what else is to come.
AC Turner has sole writing duties, and is working with a team of artists who are taking turns on issues. So far art duties break down as follows:
Without giving too much away, a mysterious force is at work in New York City. A mysterious, horrific force. Each issue is a vignette, taking place at different points across the city. There’s relationship drama, criminal misdeeds, and teenage hijinks, all with a sinister spin. There’s gore, boobs and bad language galore in the first few issues as we begin to explore the city. There is a mystery element along with the horror. Nothing has yet been explicity stated as to WHAT is going on. And that’s great, it keeps you reading and hanging on for more in the hopes that maybe next issue you’ll get a bit more detail. And trust me when I say January’s issue is going to blow you away.
The Review
I’m just going to say it. I’m a BIG fan so far. While the issues may be short, ranging from 7-10 pages, they are well paced and the stories are great. I loved the changing art styles from issue to issue. It makes sense to me to change artists as the story skips around. I’ve read just enough to be hooked, but not so much as to be overwhelmed. I will definitely be checking back on his site regularly for more issues and hopefully news on that TPB collection of the first volume. I think that Frightmare City has serious potential and can’t wait to see more from this series.
