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| Haunt #19 |
When Joe Casey (BUTCHER BAKER, THE RIGHTEOUS MAKER and GODLAND) and Nathan Fox (BLUE ESTATE, Florescent Black, and Pigeons From Hell) threaten to shake things up, it turns out that they unleash a category 5 tornado of shockingly visceral, brutally unpredictable comics. While Todd McFarlane and Robert Kirkman's HAUNT series was never meant for the faint of heart, come issue #19, things get a whole lot nastier!
"It's time to scare the **** out of people," said Casey. "That's our mandate on HAUNT, and Nathan and I are taking full advantage. Trust me on this... when you read this book, have clean underwear on hand."
Casey's uniquely twisted storytelling voice and Fox's dark, gritty, and gestural brushwork are taking hold of the characters and world that Kirkman and McFarlane initially populated and fleshed out, and transforming them. The arrival of HAUNT #19 was pushed back a few weeks to give time for the preceding issues' release, but now the new team's debut issue is set to arrive in stores on November 30th, and their over-the-top new direction promises to be well worth the wait!
As the final release date for HAUNT #19 creeps closer, McFarlane, who is still involved in this unique multiple genre series in an editorial role, expects the response from comics and horror fans to be overwhelmingly positive.
"HAUNT is getting darker, more down and dirty," McFarlane explained. "If you've read some of Joe's previous work, I think you know just how far this guy will go. And I think people are in for a real treat with Nathan's art. It's very different from my own style, much looser, but it displays a great confidence in brush stroke that evokes just the right dark mood and emotions."
"We're doing some pretty insane **** and redefining a whole new direction in the series," added Fox. "I'm having a blast with Joe's scripts as we toss Daniel and Kurt off a cliff with no real life support, new foes, and new characters. No one can be trusted, and HAUNT has no idea what he's in for. The evolution of this thing is going to be pretty insane on a monthly basis. So stay tuned for the nightmare! It's well under way."
HAUNT began with a story of two brothers, one a priest and one a dangerous secret agent. When one brother is murdered, his spirit becomes bound to Earth. He continues to hover around his brother, speaking to him... haunting him. A sudden trauma leads the surviving brother to discover that he can temporarily join with his deceased brother's spirit to become something else... HAUNT.
There are two previously collected volumes of HAUNT, with more issues available monthly. HAUNT #19 (JUL110423), a 32-page full-color horror comic book for $2.99, will be on sale in stores on November 30th.© C Harris Lynn, 2011
Beginning with the 19th issue of HAUNT, Robert Kirkman and Greg Capullo pass the torch to respected comics veterans Joe Casey (BUTCHER BAKER, THE RIGHTEOUS MAKER and GODLAND) and Nathan Fox (BLUE ESTATE, Florescent Black, and Pigeons From Hell). The pair, who previously collaborated on Marvel’s Dark Reign: Zodiac, are prepared to take Todd McFarlane's HAUNT into even darker territory.
"Haunt is a great character and... Daniel and Kurt are really just getting started in the HAUNT legacy and folklore when Joe and I pick up in issue #19," said Fox. "Artistically, I'm beyond excited to transition from where the creative team leaves off in issue #18 and then completely push HAUNT and the series to new extremes. Joe's scripts and vision of where we're headed is pretty rad to say the least, so for me, it is going to be an inspiring and happily busy monthly pace. Stay Tuned!"
"Opportunities like this -- to take over an existing property so early in its existence -- don't come around too often, and we're going to take full advantage," explained Casey. "Todd and Robert created some great characters in the Kilgore brothers and Nathan and I are locked and loaded to put them through hell. So let the games begin...!"
Industry legend and Image Comics founder, McFarlane (SPAWN), who co-created the HAUNT series and will continue to play an editorial role, is confident that the new creative team are more than equal to the task of scaring up some fantastic new storytelling for the series.
"Filling the shoes of Robert Kirkman and Greg Capullo is a hard task, but I feel very fortunate that the new team will keep the book flying high," McFarlane commented. "I see it going down the pathway of the original Spawn book. Haunt is not going away. It’s the second monthly book I've put out of my company in 20 years that I intend on seeing all the way through to the end."
HAUNT began with a story of two brothers: Daniel Kilgore, a priest, and Kurt Kilgore, a dangerous secret agent. When Kurt was murdered, his spirit did not leave the mortal world as it should have, but continued to hover around his brother, speaking to him... haunting him. When Daniel himself was attacked, the sudden trauma led him to discover that his recently deceased brother could join with him to become something else… HAUNT.
There are two previously collected volumes of HAUNT, with more issues available monthly. HAUNT #19 (JUL110423), a 32-page, full-color, horror comic book for $2.99, is available for order in the July edition of the Diamond Previews catalog, and will be in a comic store near you in September.
© C Harris Lynn, 2011
10 November 2009 (Berkeley, CA) - HAUNT, the sales record-breaking new superhero series conceived by Todd McFarlane and Robert Kirkman, faces yet another sell-out with both its first and second issues completely sold-through on a distribution-level.
"Getting this reception a second time around has us all very excited," Kirkman said. "HAUNT is having a tremendous launch at a period in time when the economy doesn't really lend itself to people taking a chance on something new. Not only did the first issue set a recent sales record for Image, but as of last week, the reprint and second issue are both gone despite very significant overprints. Todd and I are very appreciative of the fans and retailers supporting HAUNT. We hope to reward them back with years of stories to come."
HAUNT centers on a pair of brothers, Kurt and Daniel Kilgore, who act more like adversaries than family. Kurt, a secret agent, and Daniel, a less than holy priest, bond in a way neither of them expects after Kurt's untimely death. A surprise fusing of Kurt's ghost with Daniel's body creates a chain reaction, turning the brothers into the character, Haunt. While both distribution-level sell-out issues will return with new printings in December, earlier printings may be available in small quantities at your local comic book store.
HAUNT #1 3rd-Printing and HAUNT #2 2nd-Printing, both 32-page, full-color comic books for $2.99, will be in stores alongside HAUNT #3 (OCT090361) on December 2nd, 2009.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
HAUNT, the new debut from WALKING DEAD's Robert Kirkman and SPAWN's Todd McFarlane, faces an instant distributor-level sell out despite very significant overprint and massive preorders!
7 October 2009 (Berkeley, CA) - Robert Kirkman and Todd McFarlane's HAUNT hit shelves today to face an instantaneous distributor-level sell-out despite massive preorders and a significant overprint! A second-printing is being rushed to fulfill the continued sales velocity, but first printings may still be available at your local comic book store.
"This sellout is attributed to the skills of Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, and Greg Capullo. It's always nice to be a part of such a talented team," McFarlane said. "I also would like to tip my hat to retailers who, in these tough economic times, are willing to take a chance on the odd title that is outside of the Marvel and DC realm. My hopes, now, are that the books get into the hands of new, faithful consumers and to keep the momentum going through Haunt #2 and beyond."
HAUNT centers on a pair of brothers, Kurt and Daniel Kilgore, who act more like adversaries than family. Kurt, a secret agent, and Daniel, a less than holy priest, bond in a way neither of them expects after Kurt's untimely death. A surprise fusing of Kurt's ghost with Daniel's body creates a chain reaction, turning the brothers into the character, Haunt.
"I had a feeling this book would go over well considering the preorders were up there with Marvel and DC's releases," Kirkman said. "That said, it is an honor to have it so well received right off the bat. We'll continue to aim to make fans happy. Thank you to everyone who's supported the book, reader and retailer alike!"
HAUNT #1 2nd-Printing, a 32-page, full-color comic book for $2.99, will be in stores November 4th 2009
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
When Image sent me a copy of Robert Kirkman and Todd McFarlane's new creation, Haunt, I was excited. My copy won't be here for another three or four weeks, at least, plus I love getting free comics. I also really wanted to like Haunt - unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot about it to like.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
Haunt begins by introducing us to Daniel Kilgore, a cold man who frequents prostitutes. But it is the revelation that Daniel is a clergyman which makes him really unlikeable. His brother, Kurt, is some sort of espionage agent whose relationship with his brother consists of forcing him to hear the details of his sins. When Kurt is killed during a mission, his ghost begins communicating with Daniel, begging him to protect his estranged sister-in-law (Kurt's widow). It is when the pair are attacked that Daniel discovers his brother's spirit has imbued him with superhuman abilities.
The concept is strong - superhuman powers granted by the Supernatural - but Haunt fails on several levels at once. There are two, basic ways to create comic books: traditionally written scripts and "The Marvel Way." In the latter, the writer and artist discuss the story to be told and certain key scenes and events are concreted. The artist draws the story, then the writer comes back in and writes the dialogue. Haunt reads exactly like a comic book done The Marvel Way by a creative team with communication issues. I'm not saying the communication issues were between McFarlane and Kirkman, just that there was a communication problem (the Internet could have broken, the creators may have had scheduling issues which kept them from getting together, whatever) because everything about Haunt seems thrown-together and rushed. Like Haunt's costume - which looks like Spawn got Bullseye's tights by mistake.
The pacing is off from the beginning and the story jumps around too much for the reader to figure out what's going on, who is involved, or why he should care. Kirkman eschews blurbs and thought balloons, preferring to use flashbacks to show you the details. A laudable attempt - this is a graphic medium, after all - but it does not serve Haunt well. There is too much story for a single issue and a few well-placed blurbs and thought balloons would have gone a long way and saved several pages. The first issue should have been double-sized, but the team also missed several opportunities to tell the story - including the entirety of the first two pages!
Another problem is the violence. Haunt is salaciously punctuated with scenes of total overkill - we even get to sit-in on a torture scene. The ultraviolence does nothing whatsoever to further the story - in fact, I found it a total turn-off. The violence is so ludicrously excessive that readers are either going to gag or giggle, but I sincerely doubt anyone's going to think it lends the title the "gritty realism" they were going for. There's a lot more to horror than gore, but you wouldn't know it from Haunt.
The artwork is disappointing. At turns both flat and excruciating, there is so much crosshatching and extraneous ink that you have to squint to find the people in every panel. The transformation scene is pretty spectacular, but 20 years later, Todd McFarlane is still drawing Spider-Man! Haunt's ectoplasm is Spidey's webbing and with all the unnecessary crosshatching and toothbrush-spattering for which the core Image artists are known, by the fourth issue, you're not even going to be able to see the guy once he "Haunts-out!" By Haunt #10, the title character is going to be represented by nothing more than a squiggly line. Every time there's a scuffle, it's going to look like he's fighting Andy Capp!
There's an interesting story in Haunt, but I have a feeling we're going to be no closer to it by issue three than we are in issue one. Obscuring everything doesn't heighten tension. If nobody cares about the characters, they aren't going to care what happens to them, and we can't care about the characters in Haunt because we don't know enough about them - nor what's going on to/with/around them! Far from a catch-22 of the story or genre, it's a failing of the writer's; Kirkman is really bad about this, as evidenced by Walking Dead.
I have a subscription to Haunt and I'll be receiving the first three issues for certain, so I'll let you know how things progress, but if the first issue is any indication, I'll only be receiving the first three. I subscribed to Walking Dead for nearly two years, waiting for something to happen - it never did. I'm not making the same mistake with Haunt.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
