Glitterbomb #1

With the approaching Fall season approaching that means Halloween is coming, so what better time to go out and reach for a good horror story. Not saying that we should wait to read certain genres in particular seasons, but the mood does help. Even if the horror story takes place in Hollywood-- a perpetually hot and smoggy area where seasons barely change.

Publisher: Image

Writer: Jim Zub

Line Art: Djibril Morissette-Phan

Colours: K. Michael Russell

Letters: Marshall Dillon

Glitterbomb sets itself up to be a horror story in its premiere issue. But the horrors aren’t just what lurks in the mysterious waters of the coast, but also the horrors inherent in people themselves and of course the dark form it takes in the pits of Hollywood.

For its first issue, Glitterbomb shows that they’re taking their time. They’re not throwing too much at the reader in a gimmick to entrance them, instead allowing for the story, the characters, and the mystery, to speak for itself. Of course they still need a hook, the first two pages give you exactly what you’re bound to expect from Glitterbomb. Hopefully not everything, but Zub has been pretty reliable in delivering more than what’s expected-- so it’s safe to assume there’s more mystery to it than just a creature hell-bent on eating it’s way through Hollywood.

We see the main character Farrah get rather verbally berated, not having what it takes to cut it in the business of show-biz anymore. She’s not young, attractive, or marketable by consumer standards. She’s not pleased with the information being spewed at her, and by the looks of it, she’s got something inside her that doesn’t care much for that news either, dealing with it in a more visceral manner.

After that it’s a slow build, giving the reader insight into Farrah’s life as a now-failing actress who no longer cuts it in the business. Hollywood is a lucrative mistress afterall. Farrah’s anguish calls to a mysterious entity living in the dark waters of the coast, forever changing the way her life is about to be.

The premise of the story is intriguing enough, Hollywood and of course it’s less glamourous side always makes for an appealing story and Farrah’s anxieties over wanting/needing to succeed is something everyone can relate too, horrors retching out of us notwithstanding.

As for the art, it’s pretty simple. It’s not a story of action, so there’s not a whole lot that happens between panels. Thankfully Morissette-Phan shows a talent for capturing facial expressions, so even when there’s no movement, there’s still a lot to look at, and there’s still elements of storytelling. It’s certainly not static. As for the colours they’re certainly more muted, a nice contrast to the gltizy boldness of Hollywood-- but a colour scheme that also reflects the tensions around Farrah’s life at the moment. 

There’s a provocative premise to Glitterbomb and it’ll be interesting to see where the creative team takes it in future issues.