DAVID BYRNE’S CANCELED, from Scout Comics on April 20th, 2022, follows Larry, a washed-up kids TV host whose failing career leads him down a supernatural path of death and destruction.
The Details
- Written By: David A. Byrne
- Art By: Pabliku Man, Renan Balmonte, MedManga, Nick Justus
- Colors By: Renan Belmonte, Trevor Rubin
- Letters By: Joel Rodriguez
- Cover Art By: Fredy Bardales
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: April 20, 2022
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Was It Good?
DAVID BYRNE’S CANCELED is the type of comic that will stick with you because it takes a familiar horror trope (a supernatural killer reaching out through electronic communication) and reworks the concept with a story within a story within a story over the decades. The writing and art both take readers on a trip down memory lane to visit the different eras of horror classes/styles for a novel experience.
That sounds like a mouthful of puzzle pieces strewn together, but that’s why this comic will stick with you. No single moment is terribly original or shocking, but when you put the pieces together, it’s the whole experience that makes this comic worth the cover price.
I’m playing coy with the details (read through to the next section for more detail with some spoilers), but this experiment works. You get untouchable killers, some gore, evil kids, evil clowns, and more. The way Byrne delicately weaves it all together is astounding.
The art maybe could use a little more spit and polish. As the story jumps from one timeframe to the next, the artists change hands with, unfortunately, inconsistent quality. If the order of artist credits matches each decade, Pabliku Man’s work is head and shoulders above anything else in this book. The detailed character acting and designs are excellent. The rest of the decades range from okay to so-so in terms of visual presentation.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with an introduction to Larry, a kids’ TV show host, on the day he gets fired due to low ratings. Larry decides to have a meltdown during the last show as it airs Live, effectively ending his already failing television career. Later, Larry stumbles through the streets during a thunderstorm after some heavy drinking. He decides to take his frustration out on the TV station’s broadcast antenna but a fateful lightning strike puts an end to his vandalism and his life.
soon, kids across the city enjoy the afternoon musings of Cruncho the Clown, but the broadcasts quietly, subtly change into something more sinister. Children who watch Cruncho begin acting out in violent ways. We soon learn the Cruncho broadcast has been intercepted by a different clown. A clown who mesmerizes everyone who watches him into doing his violent, revenge-obsessed bidding.
We conclude the issue with an abrupt ending, a surprise beginning, and a trip through the decades.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
DAVID BYRNE’S CANCELED is a novel experiment in horror storytelling. Rather than taking a familiar horror trope and expanding on it, Byrne takes several tropes and blends them together for something completely new and entertaining. The art in the first “decade” of the story is excellent, but the remaining “decades” (attributed to other artists) vary in quality.
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