Free(ky) Comics Friday

In honor of Halloween, I have a few real treats for you here. Including two web comics which have contributed to my inability to get a good night’s sleep lately.

I have been using this space to introduce you to new series that you might not have tried yet, but going forward, I’m going to begin putting an emphasis on webcomics, and today’s post reflects that gentle shift. I’ll still post a few previews (like the brilliant one leading things off today), but I’ll be moving to more coverage of online Comic scribblers and e-inkers.

So with that, let me also address what I’m calling this little Friday shin-dig. Free Comics Friday means, of course, that you can read these comics for free. When introducing previews I had no problem just leaving it at that, but webcomics frequently let you read it for free on the honor system: if you like it, you’ll contribute a few bucks or what you can afford. I like this system and I encourage it in both directions, so if you find one you like, please donate to the creators – they spent a lot of time and effort on this stuff and it shows.

Just a heads-up.

[/rant]

So how about some comics, huh? Read on, my friends, read on…

Cemetery Blues

Let’s kick things off with a little demon and undead hunting, shall we? Cemetery Blues is a black-and-white book that tells the story of Mortimer Ridley and his companion Falstaff, as they hunt down and neutralize things that go bump in the night. They’re good at what they do…but not great. So it’s a little concerning when they’re recruited, after a mistakenly interrupting a funeral, by the church for a demon hunting expedition.

This is a story that requires the characters to carry things, and Ridley & Falstaff are up to the task. Mort Ridley is the “brains” of the operation while Falstaff fills out the sidekick role with humor, but enough know how that you aren’t left wondering how he could possibly do the job he does. They’re interesting, without being over the top, and that subtle touch is well appreciated.

The art is, as I mentioned, black-and-white and appears to be primarily pencil and graphite. The panels move around a bit, breaking up the action without causing confusion. It’s all very well done.

If you’re interested, you can check out Cemetery Blues, by clicking here.

Two amazing webcomics after the jump…
(seriously, don’t miss these)

The Phoenix Requiem

This has got to be one of my favorite finds of all time. The Phoenix Requiem has everything that a great book (be it graphics based or texty) should have. Interesting and complex characters and relationships, multiple storylines that never manage to trip over each other, and a strong, confident, and capable artistic voice.

Set in a country town during the Victorian era, a strange disease begins afflicting the townspeople on the same day that an unconscious stranger is rescued rescued from the woods outside of town. The virus causes people to decompose in a matter of hours, the man, named Jonas, has been shot twice and refuses to discuss his past. And here is where the two major elements come in to play: the Human and the Supernatural.

The Supernatural Strain: The disease has no known natural causes and the religious beliefs of the town think that something dark might be at play. They’re right. Long ago two types of spirits were imprisoned, seemingly for the good of humanity. The Spirits, a force representing the good, were imprisoned with the Hellions, who were once Spirits, but decided they would rather live like humans, with all their temptation and vices. And everyone begins to notice that the disease came to town with the strange young man. He refuses to talk about his past, he speaks with his dead wife, and the Spirits are communicating with him, asking for his help in freeing them. Robin, another young man in town, has been seeing shadows as well. These shadows are appearing to everyone who has seen a lot of death. But what do they mean? Why is Jonas communicating with the dead? And why the frequent headaches? What is this disease that kills so many so quickly? And as the Spirits start arriving again, then what of the Hellions?

The Human Strain: His nurse, Anya, is a workahaulic trying to get ahead in her field and become a doctor. She brushes off the frequent advances of Robin, a young country man whose friendship with Anya has blossomed into something more…at least for him. They are both friends with Petria who may or may not be competing for Robin’s affections. Anya, in turn, begins to fall for Jonas, despite his potential insanity. Sounds like a soap opera, and maybe that’s there too, but these relationship matters strain the trust each character has with the others. Could you leave Jonas and Robin alone together in a room? I wouldn’t. And then there’s the police investigator who shows up asking about Jonas. He knows something of Jonas’s past and fills in what blanks he can while trying to piece together a mystery that only he knows about.

I’m not kidding about this one. Read it! It’s addictive as Hellions, over 200 pages long and counting, and better than a lot of books you’ll find in print. Just remember to take breaks for sleeping, eating, and working.

Alexander Spectre

Okay, I’ll admit it: what got me looking at Alexander Spectre wasn’t the story synopsis as much as it was the artwork. I mean, look at that cover! The rest of the art is similar, very dark, sometimes downright creepy, employing downright Halloween-esque lighting (orange hued yellows) and heavy shadows. Concerning creepy atmospheres, less is frequently better than more as it allows you to fill in the blanks (and who knows what frightens you more than you, right?); this is the approach that Alexander Spectre takes.

Oh, but it gets better and better. You see, Alexander Spectre uses known hauntings and folklore as the set ups to each episode. Here’s the backbone of the series: Alexander Spectre is a paranormal investigator who, along with his trusty sidekick, a hamster named Wilson, investigates the creepiest haunts in London and America during the Victorian and Industrial times.

Each episode runs a handful of pages, so you can easily run through one in about 5-10 minutes (depending on how long you take to soak it all in). And there’s a pretty sweet soak factor: each story seems to be based on an actual place/haunting/unexplained event and provides the real backstory associated with that area. Mmmmm…deliciously creepy. Read it with the lights out.

So settle in, turn the lights down low, and have Happy Free(ky) Halloween!