Old Haunts #2 Review
Writers: Ollie Masters & Rob Williams
Artist: Laurence Campbell
Colours: Lee Loughbridge
Letters: Sal Cipriano
The debut of Old Haunts was fantastic, a stylish mixture of old-time gangster tale meeting the supernatural. This second issue downplays the supernatural side of things a little, focusing a little more on the ongoing story briefly introduced in the first issue. The car accident at the end of the last issue has left our crew shaken, and this is something the FBI agent briefly featured is quick to take advantage of. Masters & Williams did a great job setting the scene in the last issue and now they’re getting stuck into the meat of the story. The haunting aspect of the title is downplayed, and at this stage could just be an old man metaphorically haunted by his past rather than literally. Only time will tell where this story will go.
The thing that really strikes the reader with this comic is how cinematic it feels. From Ollie Masters and Rob Williams script, right through to the art from Campbell and Loughbridge, it feels like its been ripped straight from the big screen. There’s a huge Scorsese vibe from this comic, and as the story unfolds it promises to not only be exciting, but an interesting mesh of horror and gangster, set against that unusual backdrop of LA for the story. Masters & Williams are in no rush to tell this story, instead letting it unfold slowly in the pages of the comic. It's a subtle story, with the reader learning about the characters through the little things, a combination of shared looks and throwaway lines, which manage to not only flesh these characters out for readers, it's done so subtley that readers won't even know its happening.
The art in this comic is truly incredible. A combination of Campbells heavy inking and Loughbridges clever lighting makes one of the most stylised and gorgeously drawn comics ever. There is a flashback sequence at the beginning of the story which relies mostly on Campbells heavy inking, with only a little subtle blue from Loughbridge, which is reminiscent of the best Noir tales. Then we move onto the city, seen from above, and Loughbridge manages to make the orange lights look like blood. It’s an excellent way to set the tone and mode of the story. Campbells use of wide panels continues the cinematic style that the first issue set, and it all comes together to create one of the best looking comics that’s released this year, if not decade. It would be possible to spend the entire review discussing the art, it’s so beautiful. It’s also very unique and different from nearly every other comic out there.
Just over halfway through the year and Old Haunts looks set to be THE most stylish comic out there thanks to Campbells incredible art and the outstanding colours from Loughbridge. The blend of Gangster story and supernatural haunting from Masters & Williams promise to make for interesting bedfellows. Yet another comic from AWA that demands to be read.
Artist: Laurence Campbell
Colours: Lee Loughbridge
Letters: Sal Cipriano
The debut of Old Haunts was fantastic, a stylish mixture of old-time gangster tale meeting the supernatural. This second issue downplays the supernatural side of things a little, focusing a little more on the ongoing story briefly introduced in the first issue. The car accident at the end of the last issue has left our crew shaken, and this is something the FBI agent briefly featured is quick to take advantage of. Masters & Williams did a great job setting the scene in the last issue and now they’re getting stuck into the meat of the story. The haunting aspect of the title is downplayed, and at this stage could just be an old man metaphorically haunted by his past rather than literally. Only time will tell where this story will go.
The thing that really strikes the reader with this comic is how cinematic it feels. From Ollie Masters and Rob Williams script, right through to the art from Campbell and Loughbridge, it feels like its been ripped straight from the big screen. There’s a huge Scorsese vibe from this comic, and as the story unfolds it promises to not only be exciting, but an interesting mesh of horror and gangster, set against that unusual backdrop of LA for the story. Masters & Williams are in no rush to tell this story, instead letting it unfold slowly in the pages of the comic. It's a subtle story, with the reader learning about the characters through the little things, a combination of shared looks and throwaway lines, which manage to not only flesh these characters out for readers, it's done so subtley that readers won't even know its happening.
The art in this comic is truly incredible. A combination of Campbells heavy inking and Loughbridges clever lighting makes one of the most stylised and gorgeously drawn comics ever. There is a flashback sequence at the beginning of the story which relies mostly on Campbells heavy inking, with only a little subtle blue from Loughbridge, which is reminiscent of the best Noir tales. Then we move onto the city, seen from above, and Loughbridge manages to make the orange lights look like blood. It’s an excellent way to set the tone and mode of the story. Campbells use of wide panels continues the cinematic style that the first issue set, and it all comes together to create one of the best looking comics that’s released this year, if not decade. It would be possible to spend the entire review discussing the art, it’s so beautiful. It’s also very unique and different from nearly every other comic out there.
Just over halfway through the year and Old Haunts looks set to be THE most stylish comic out there thanks to Campbells incredible art and the outstanding colours from Loughbridge. The blend of Gangster story and supernatural haunting from Masters & Williams promise to make for interesting bedfellows. Yet another comic from AWA that demands to be read.
A Look Inside
