Adam Szym. Oni Press, (168p) ISBN: . Horror, read 16/05/25, eBook ★★★★☆

Little Visitor & Other Abductions

The cover of this intrigued me when I saw it on NetGalley, and who doesn’t love a good old alien abduction? (and it’s put out by Oni Press who seem to be on such a great streak over the last couple of years)

Three interconnected stories involving aliens and their interactions with humans, all three are so strong as stand alones but the interactions between them and the end themes make this work wonderfully as a whole.

The black ink dark artwork with no colour is an excellent choice for such stark tales, the shadows are where all of the darkest acts of horror occur and this all plays out a bit like a pulp movie which in a way mirrors the first story, Little Visitor, where a communist film company tries their take on E.T. (the ameerican movie) but as the story unfolds a tragedy occurs and this is the story of that tragedy seen as flash backs, the whole story uses film techniques to great effect, strong and punchy visuals carry this along to it’s conclusion.

The next story, A Cordial Invitation, takes us to a New Year party in the middle of nowhere, with a twist, another that has a very filmic feel, almost Rocky Horror but with the horror amped up quite a bit. A sacrifice, a journey, a cult, what more could you want?

And the final story, Frolicker, is the most disturbing really as the strangers who encourage the violent thoughts into a teens head have been there before but this time they are more insidious, who are they and what is their agenda, Children of the Corn comes to mind here.

A brilliantly realised project, dark and haunting, otherworldly but firmly planted in a filmic tradition of graphic novels though this really seems to loan from film making quite strongly it turns it into a wonderful graphic experience.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.