House Amok #4 Review

Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artist: Shawn McManus
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Neil Uyetake
Publisher: Black Crown

House Amok fails to disappoint with it’s fourth issue as it is packed with action, violence, and constant exhilarating storytelling. This series’ story has been very interesting from the start and I have come to expect each issue to further push boundaries. Christopher Sebela, House Amok’s writer, manages to keep me excitedly guessing what is actually real and what isn’t.

This series has remained part of the horror genre in my opinion by both containing monsters and by creating a scenario that I would be terrified to be in. The fourth issue secures its place in the horror genre because of a couple of reasons. Firstly, I am officially scared of Ollie, especially with her new look. Ollie has shown us in this issue that she is potentially the most evil thing in this entire story. She reveals this by constantly pushing this story onto her family that is requiring them to kill a lot of people. Ollie with a gun is officially scarier than all of the monsters that the Sandifers think they’ve seen. This situation is especially terrifying because the Sandifers are allowing this evil person into their bus and have access to all of their weapons.

Secondly, this story remains a part of the horror genre to me because Dylan's role continues to be extremely scary and stressful. This issue also elaborates on this part of the story by showing her almost take advantage of a chance to escape. I have also been concerned about how the family was going to react to Dylan if she were to ever just unload all of the facts of reality because her family have proved themselves to be bananas.

I probably have mentioned this in a review for a previous issue but this issue also made me really appreciate Sebela’s pacing. This story is definitely exciting and has a lot of action, but none of these issues are constant action to the point of being boring. This fourth issue has such a fantastic balance of excitement and character development and drama. Sebela has found a structure that works for this very unique story.

As Sebela’s writing builds this story that is suspenseful and surreal, that surrealism is brought to life by Shawn McManus’ artwork. The story has a beautiful way of blending reality with bizarre imagination and this is visually done amazingly by McManus’s art. His artwork makes me more confused about what is real and what is not and I love that state of limbo. The forces sent by the Elders continue to be interestingly illustrated in a way that adds to the tension. I especially love how these forces and “Reality Arrangers” are colored by Lee Loughridge as they establish the blurred lines of reality.

I am still heavily invested in this story and this fourth issue gives me enough to anxiously want more. This issue continues to tell an interesting story amazingly with exceptional writing and gorgeous artwork. House Amok #4 is a perfect lead up to a conclusion that is sure to be remarkable.