Review - The Red Mother #1 (@boomstudios)


"Do you know where are you are Daisy?"

Typically, when a date is going well, they don't end up with one person mysteriously abducted and the other missing an eye. In The Red Mother #1 from BOOM! Studios, that's the scenario that serves as the catalyst for potentially worse things to come. The issue is written by Jeremy Haun, illustrated by Danny Luckert and lettered by Ed Dukeshire.

After losing her eye and the man she loves in a brutal mugging, Daisy McDonough is left trying to put the pieces of her life back together. Just when she begins to think she can heal- move on, she begins to see strange things through her new prosthetic eye. And The Red Mother sees her in return.

Hauna knows that what makes horror, well, horrible is the psychological impacts of a horrific event. Following along with Daisy as she recovers from one such event is meticulously plotted out by Haun, who moves from the physical to the mental road to recovery as the issue proceeds. In fact, Haun spends the entirety of the issue presenting Daisy's newfound struggle to the reader through a series of rehabilitations and therapy sessions that allow the reader to better understand her plight. That being said, focusing on the minutiae of recovery (not to downplay it in any way) doesn't allow Haun much time otherwise to present to the reader a broader sense of what exactly going on. The reader definitely needs to have some patient with the issue because of this fact, but Haun still fills the space very well and doesn't waste any of the pages in establishing Daisy's character as the bedrock for what's to come.

Luckert's illustrations are done with a focus on relatively minimal linework. The characters each sport definition that differentiates them from one another and the backgrounds which are fairly minimal; there's enough detail in the backgrounds though to give the reader a good sense of the environments. The approach Luckert takes to the "scary" portion of the comic is minimal, relying on the concept of less is more in terms of keeping the reader on edge in regards to what's to come. The panels are largely stacked one atop the other, many of which are arranged quite neatly to keep things organized. The colors are very pale in terms of the tones with the exception of the bright red influences on various pages for dramatic effect.

The Red Mother #1 is a solid start to a new horror series that emphasizes the idea that the terrors we can't see are what are truly terrible. Daisy is coping with a very traumatic event that no one can seem to make sense of and that ramifications of that event will drive quite a few decisions. Haun's script is methodical in its approach, favoring deliberate dialogue that enforces the slow-burn pacing. Luckert's illustrations are very clean and simple, giving the reader glimpses into the scariness that hides in the dark. The Red Mother #1 offers a strong foundation for the new series going forward.

The Red Mother #1 is available now.

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