Broken Frontier

Studio 407 first slipped onto the scene in a quiet way, at least for anyone who frequented retail comic shops: their first book, Night and Fog, was one of the initial volley of comics offered on Wowio.com.  A four-issue mini that sported higher production values than most small publishers operating on a digital-only basis, it came as little surprise when 407’s output was soon swept up by Diamond Distributors, and now Night and Fog has nearly finished its solicitations and the company itself has nearly a dozen more titles ready to pounce onto comic shop racks come the beginning of the new year.  Head on over to their website, and note the sheer level of attention and effort put into that, which then equals the time and effort put into their comics, and you might likely be convinced that Studio 407 is a serious new contender on the small press stage.

And there is no better way to pave the way for new titles in an oversaturated market than to offer a well-in-advance preview for potential readers to give, not just one, but three titles the good ol’ college try.  Studio 407 does just this with Shadow Chronicles, a double-sized book for a reasonable mainstream price ($3.99) that acts as a sampling of the company itself.  Back-to-back the issue offers one classic horror tale with a dash of gothic, historical Grand Guignol a la Dracula; then comes a sci-fi horror epic that reads like a cross between Sigil and Route 666; then finally an action horror blend, a sort of Marvel’s Nightstalkers in a stand-alone universe.  They each wield strengths and the occasional weakness, but one thing that surely stood out: these are high-quality tales, well conceived, beautifully rendered.

First up is The Night Projectionist by Bob Heske (scripter of the indy horror anthology Cold Blooded Chillers ) and artist Diego Yapura.  The story begins in 1700’s Hungary, as a town and its religious leaders take up arms to bring down a vampiric threat.  But one man believes this “threat” to be little more than a witch hunt, and moves to avert what he fears will be mindless slaughter.  Cut to: modern day, a small town cinema, All Hallow’s Eve.  What happened in the past is about to catch up with the present, in a movie theater with a fearsome figure manning the film projector helm.  This one was a surprise—dense and packed with dialogue, happenstance, characters, and ideas.  Heske is blessedly not of the modern-day school of ten-words-per-page scripts.  His idea of a big, broad horror epic is one drenched in narrative and a myriad of moments.  Night Projectionist isn’t a simple or rote experience: instead, it’s a singular-voiced take on two classic horror aesthetics, balanced and well-paced.  Heske’s Tales From the Crypt and Hammer Horror influences are apparent, but NP wields modern slasher elements to boot, yielding a distinctive final result.  Diego Yapura’s art lies somewhere between horror masters Gene Colan and Tom Mandrake: dark and smudgy yet classic.  A perfect complement to Heske’s script.

Second up is Netherworld, a comic seemingly ripped straight from out of Crossgen ’s CG6 line.  Humanity is at war with an alien species, but something has just happened on their enemies’ home planet, killing off thousands in one fell swoop.  The human army will risk everything to get their hands on such a weapon, and so a contingent of marines, partnered with a xeno-sociologist who knows the aliens’ culture better than anyone, drop to the planet’s surface on a snatch and grab mission.  But what they find on the surface isn’t quite a dead or even dying enemy.  Likely you can figure out the hook from there (and if not, all the better!).  Studio 407 editor Chad Jones handles the wordsmithery, and he manages an unexpectedly satisfying, never stale execution of a largely familiar setting (marines in space, fighting aliens…yeah, yeah…).  This book isn’t (from the preview) yet the appeal of, say, Guardians of the Galaxy or Shooter’s Legion of Super-Heroes, but it may be the best small press sci-fi book going.  The horror elements won’t appear until the series launches in March of next year, but for now, the preview presents more than enough solid scripting and absolutely stunning art by RB Silva to bring everyone who reads it back for the real deal.  Silva is going to be making some huge waves in the comic book world.  Mark my words on that.

Finally, we come to the third and, sadly, least favorite of mine: Demon Squad by Neal Marshall Stevens and Rafael Ortiz.  Stevens’ story comes together somewhat in the final  pages of the preview, but the first half is nearly incoherent and poorly paced.  The aim was a clever one, though: to open the story through the eyes of an innocent bystander, having stumbled upon “The Demon Squad” in action, digging up graves and preparing arcane rituals to trap a demon.  Stevens vies to place the reader in as unsure a footing as the bystander, caught up in the sudden violence that erupts when the ritual he espies goes awry, but unfortunately neither Stevens nor artist Ortiz wield a deft enough touch to make the scene a) fluid, b) dramatic, or c) exciting.  It reads like a jumble, easy enough to catch up to, but then the storytelling on both fronts (visual and prose) never gel, and come across as slapdash.  The final scenes of the preview are better, but still, Demon Squad is the one that seems the most uninspired, least original (demon hunters and…uhm…that’s about it), and while it isn’t bad, neither does it distinguish itself.  Ortiz has a fine line, but his sequentials suffer a professional’s clarity.

All in all, Shadow Chronicles went a long way to convince me that Studio 407 may yet be the successor to Crossgen.  The books are more often than not superior quality to other small press genre releases, the genre in question spans a veritable banquet of genres outside of spandex, and the packaging is bar none.  Studio 407 has got some seriously good comics to offer, and nowhere is a better place to see what all the buzz is about than the insides of Shadow Chronicles #1.  I may have only enjoyed two out of three of what was inside, but add Night and Fog to the list and that’s a 75% rate of awesomeness.  That’s a company to pay attention to.

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For more information on Studio 407 and their books, head on over to http://www.studio407.com

The Night Projectionist is the first title to arrive in January, and can be ordered in the Diamond December Previews - Page 305, Order # DEC084241