TOMB OF THE RED HORSE – Indie Review

In TOMB OF THE RED HORSE, available now on Kickstarter, Air Force One crashes in Las Vegas where a powerful force demands a father’s ultimate sacrifice to bring about the end of the world.

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The Details

• Written By: Ian Mondrick
• Art By: Benjamin Æ Filby
• Colors By: Dearbhla Kelly
• Letters By: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
• Cover Art By: Kim Myatt
• Cover Price: $6 (digital copy via Kickstarter)
• Release Date: March 2021 (crowdfund delivery), November 2021 (via ThoughtBubble)

Was It Good?

It’s a mixed bag of elements that are great and others that aren’t.

First, let’s take a look at the positives.

The pacing is phenomenal, and the mood ratchets up the creep factor to 11. A catastrophic event, such as the crash of Air Force One in a populated city, is bad enough, but when you find out the crash and location of the wreckage is all part of a horrific plan, the tension escalates exponentially.

The dialog, elevated by Otsmane-Elhaou’s pitch-perfect lettering, conveys a sense of dread from a menacing force too powerful to stop by human hands.

The tone of the comic builds from creepy to frantic to full-on panic. Mondrick nails the feeling of growing tension until the apocalyptic conclusion.

As for the art, it’s blood-soaked goodness from start to finish. Filby captures odd angles to constantly keep the reader off-kilter, making you feel like a helpless feather twirling in the whirlwind of the story as you’re drawn to its malignant center. Kelly’s coloring matches the off-kilter visuals by infusing every panel with a range of red tones to project a feeling of sickly nausea in the presence of evil.

Those are the positives.

The primary down point, with recognition this is part of a series, is the persistent need to ask “Uhh… what’s going on?” I’m never a fan of spoon-feeding or lengthy exposition, but sometimes you need a little bit of help to set the stage and clarify potentially confusing points.

Good writing forces the reader to ask questions, but it has the be the right kind of questions, such as “What would I do if I was in that character’s shoes?” or “What’s going to happen next?” or “Who’s the killer in this mystery?” Those are good questions because they force the reader to look at situations from a different point of view or instigate curiosity to come back for the next issue.

The wrong kind of questions are any type that forces the reader to ask “What’s happening? I don’t get it.” There are too many of these types of questions in this comic and it puts a damper on enjoying this comic. We’ll cover some of those questions in the next section so as to avoid spoilers.

In all, I like the look and feel of this comic. The premise is certainly original. And the emotional buildup over the issue is masterful. That said, there are too many plot points that aren’t explained or set up, leaving the story feeling incomplete and confusing.

What’s It About?

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

We start with a plane, Air force One, flying over Las Vegas. Suddenly, a projectile (a spear? An arrow?) is thrown with terrific force to shoot down the plane, crashing the wreckage in the heart of Las Vegas. Somehow the crash turns nearby Las Vegas residents, not the first responders, into red-eyed, rabid, zombie-like killers ala 28 Day Later.

Why is Air Force One flying high over Las Vegas? Unknown. It’s implied in a bit of dialog later that Las Vegas is the President’s residential home but if so, the plane should be elevating away from Las Vegas.

Who shot down the plane? Unknown. It’s never explained.

Why are the people of Las Vegas turning into rabid zombies? Unknown. It’s slightly implied the tomb underneath the city is having some influence, but it’s not clear why it only affects some and not others or why the influence didn’t start until the crash.

We have at least three plot points that are unclear and it’s only the third page of the story.

Cut to the President’s young son in a black sedan being driven out of Las Vegas. Where is the driver taking him? Unknown except away from the city. Was he supposed to be traveling with his father? Unknown. Las Vegas is many miles away from any city or military base, so don’t they have a safe facility in Las Vegas to protect the President’s family in an emergency? Unknown.

On the way out of the city, the car is involved in an accident that flips the car off the highway, landing near a drainage tunnel. The son and driver are okay, but the son follows a disembodied voice calling to him from the tunnel. It’s mildly implied the voice sounds like the President’s to entice the boy to follow, but it’s also not clear.

The boy follows the voice deeper into the tunnel while the driver (presumably a Secret Service agent) frees himself from the car and gives chase. The deeper the boy goes into the tunnel toward the titular tomb, the more the walls come alive with eyes, limbs, and teeth.

We conclude the issue with a meeting between “father” and son, the call to sacrifice, and a monstrous beginning to the end of all things.

Final Thoughts

TOMB OF THE RED HORSE excels in bloody, grotesque visuals, heart-pounding desperation that builds with each page, and a truly apocalyptic ending. However, the story is rife with unexplained and unclear plot points that leave the work feeling unfinished and unsatisfying.

Score: 6.5/10