DAMNED, CURSED CHILDREN #4 – An Honest Review

In DAMNED, CURSED CHILDREN #4, available from Source Point Press on April 28th, 2021, Kendra escapes an overrun mall and makes it home with the help of a stranger to find her father picked up some “friends” of his own.

The Details

• Written By: Howard Wong, Josh Stafford
• Art By: Robin Simon Ng
• Letters By: Howard Wong
• Cover Price: $3.99 (physical), $1.99 (pdf)
• Release Date: April 28, 2021

Was It Good?

It was creepy and gory, so yes, it was good.

This series is a throwback to everything a horror fan loves about the original Night of the Living Dead films crossed with Children of the Damned. If you’re a fan of either or both of those film genres, this book is right up your alley.

In this particular issue, we get a trope of the Dead films that play out in a more satisfying way — the nervous jerk who makes all the wrong moves in the interests of self-preservation. It happens, it’s dealt with, and that’s a writing evolution we wish to see more writers adopt.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

We pick up with Kendra making a mad dash through the mall, armed with nothing more than her wits and a golf club. The children (ghouls? zombies? what would you call them?) are fast and hungry for human flesh. Kendra manages to make it to the outer doors, barely, and pushes some trash cans and a bench against the door to block the way.

Just as she steps out, a woman pulls up in a car to offer her a ride. The driver introduces herself as Daisy and offers to drive her home.

Meanwhile, Kendra’s father, Lawrence, pulls up to his brownstone in his truck with two stragglers, Ted and Sam. They find the home abandoned and the street outside in disarray as if a storm ripped through. The trio gathers inside and turns on the news to find out what’s going on.

Here we get a well-placed bit of exposition in the form of frantic news reports, soundbites, and snippets from across the world. There’s a lot of ways to do exposition poorly, but it’s done well here in a clipped style that provides readers with the information without simply spewing walls of text.

According to the news, the plague only affects children. The infection is happening in every country. And there’s no clear cause or cure.

Meanwhile, Daisy and Kendra pull into a gas station to refuel and to look for food, water, and anything that might be useful. Inside the gas station’s quick mart, Kendra starts collecting some snacks until she nearly trips over a child eating the store’s clerk. Before she’s attacked, Daisy kills the child with a shotgun she found behind the store counter.

Back at Kendra’s home, Ted starts exhibiting signs of being the desperate, nervous jerk that always winds up getting himself and others killed. The trio begins to argue about the next steps. Lawrence is committed to staying in the hope Kendra will find a way, and of course, Ted wants to leave to get to a police station with Lawrence’s truck. It’s more than a difference of opinion as Ted is clearly agitated, and you can feel through the dialog writing and the art that Ted is getting ready to make a bad move.

Of course, Ted makes a bad move. The front door starts to creak open, and Ted grabs Lawrence’s gun and shoots at the opening door, nearly killing Kendra. Kendra runs to her father for a big hug. Lawrence snatches the gun away from Ted and gives him a right cross across the jaw for good measure.

At this point, the writers make a better choice when it comes to this trope of a desperate jerk. Lawrence kicks him out. He doesn’t try to talk him down. He doesn’t give him dirty looks or put him in timeout. He kicks him out to fend for himself, and it’s completely satisfying.

We conclude the issue with Ted leaving Lawrence’s home when the too-quiet street suddenly becomes very noisy.

How Does It End?

Ted is unhappy to figure out the children can drive. Lawrence has very useful souvenirs from his time as an Army Ranger. Lawrence’s truck is good for more than just driving.

Final Thoughts

DAMNED, CURSED CHILDREN #4, available from Source Point Press on April 28th, 2021, takes the tropes of survivors coming together in a zombie apocalypse but adding the refreshing twist of using their heads when the circumstances call for it.

Score: 8.5/10