Spontaneous #2
Many comics billed as horror comics simply fail to elicit that clammy, sweaty response that one would expect from the genre.
The same cannot be said for one of the latest offerings from Oni Press, now into its second issue. Spontaneous deals with the story of Melvin, a boy cursed from childhood with the ability to perceive who stands at risk of spontaneous human combustion.
At least, that’s how it appears on the surface. Melvin is one of those nobodies that we walk past every day and try to escape any conversation with. Much as we hate to admit it, I know this can strike a chord with everyone. Joe Harris weaves a disturbing tale where nothing is revealed straight off the bat, while Brett Weldele’s illustrations set a generally depressive mood with great use of greys and an almost pointalistic style of colouring. Seems odd to say that about a comic book even now, considering the old four-colour processes, but Brett delivers a relationship between intensity of mood and density of colour that brings to mind the film of Anna climbing out of the well in the last movie to really make me fear, The Ring.
The only highlighting is via the colours of flame, but with the backdrop of muted greys and browns, this hardly provides any comfort, but is simply a stark and violent contrast to a story which flows yet dwells in an atmosphere of nothing really happening. We’ve all felt it, growing up in whatever smalltown we arrived in, and after moving on, looking back in sympathy (and some derision) to those who failed to escape.
The words I am using here to describe the two issues I have read so far do not do the series justice. Depressive, dark, gloomy, small town, nobody; these words all accurately conjure the atmosphere of the story; yet I am at once both entranced and repulsed by Spontaneous. It is a long time since a comic has made my flesh crawl, and the best thing about this is that so far, I cannot tell you why I am so repulsed. That to me is an expert use of static media of the page, which has had a greater effect on me than many of the so-called horror films.
I doubt the inclusion of Hellblazer back into the DCU will have anything on this, yet the only comics simile I could compare in to would be the early issues of Hellblazer, although Spontaneous is more subtle than that. I re-read the issues two hours ago, and I still feel uncomfortable.
In a good way though, if such a thing is possible.
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