Filed under: Comic Reviews, IDW Comics | Tags: Damien Worm, IDW, Monster and Madman, Steve Niles, The October Faction
This new title from IDW sees writer Steve Niles & artist Damien Worm team-up again after they worked on Monster & Madman (#1, #2 & #3) earlier this year which I loved. Safe to say that this was on my preorder list straight away and after seeing some teaser images on the lead up to it’s release only helped me get more hyped.
The story centres on Fredrick Allan, a teacher and retired monster-hunter as he struggles to get to know his own family following years on the road with vampires, werewolves and more in his sights. Estranged wife Deloris has masked her loneliness with a series of affairs and the latest of which may have been casually discovered by Frederick’s old hunting partner Lucas. Cue a flashback to their heyday of hunting evil and kicking it’s ass in the 70’s and I already like these guys….maybe a bit like the Winchester’s from Supernatural but wiser somehow. Times have changed though and the excitement of those days clear to leave real-life in it’s place and we return to learning more of the wider Allan family.
Son Gregory & daughter Vivian still face ridicule from their high school days but then being part of one of the stranger families in town was always going to bring that. The have their own supernatural abilities that they are just getting to grips with and the hope is that this will bring them closer to their father although the distance that’s grown over the years isn’t going to be that easy to overcome. Meanwhile their mother is seen making her way to an abandoned lockup that she’s “acquired” the key to…..inside…..is the last hint of what’s to come in future issues.
Steve Niles leads us into an impressive opener with a depth of character that we rarely see so soon in a new title featuring so many new faces. Paced perfectly and between mystical powers and flashbacks of monster hunts there’s still room to develop a feel for the family dynamic that exists between the Allan’s……and that’s without very much contact between but then I think that’s the point. The familiarity between Frederick & Lucas and sense of history is also developed across a few panels and kinda makes you wish you’d been able to hang around with these guys mid-hunt. Match that with Damien Worm’s artwork that’s gritty, moody & beautiful all at once giving a clear picture of the evil that they have faced and will face…..as well as the air of sadness that has seeped into the family from the years of having a father on the road.
Having been wowed by their previous work I was hoping that I wouldn’t have this title over-hyped in my head…..lucky for me it surpassed anything I was expecting and is the sort of title that makes that monthly release schedule a real pain in the ass because it’s a month too long. Great work from both Nile & Worm and I’m now patiently waiting for issue #2. HIGHLY recommended!
10/10
G-Man
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Comics Anonymous 
I just watch finished the whole season. There were some flaws but it was interesting enough that I stuck with it.
Comment by Monica Fox March 13, 2021 @ 11:05 am