UNBORN FEARS #1, from Badspell Comics, recounts a trippy tale of a trio of mystically-powered children who save other children from dark forces. This time, the trio investigates a boy sent to his room, prompting a kidnapping by BoogieWoogie.
The Details
- Written by: A.P. Vrdoljak
- Art by: A.P. Vrdoljak
- Colors by: A.P. Vrdoljak
- Letters by: A.P. Vrdoljak
- Cover art by: A.P. Vrdoljak, Dan Joffe
- Cover price: $0.00
- Release date: Available now
Is It Good?
UNBORN FEARS #1 is surprisingly good. At the very least, it’s better than expected if all you ever do is look at the cover. Fortunately, we give every comic a fair shake, and this issue exceeded expectations.
A.P. Vrdoljak’s mystical tale centers around a young boy snatched from our realm of existence by Boogie Woogie. Enter Reggie, Londi, and Chris – each imbued with miraculous gifts – to investigate Mikey’s disappearance and bring him home. Don’t let the cover art fool you. Vrdoljak’s story is smartly written with snappy dialog, brisk pacing, and a macabre whimsy that tips just close enough to horror to raise your shorthairs.
The artwork on the cover reflects the art on the internal pages, and that’s a plus. The strangely kiddish comic strip art creates a surreal contrast to some of the heavier imagery in the story. BoogieWoogie first presents himself to Mikey as a talking cockroach, and you’d be tempted to think this art style would make that scene silly, but Vrdoljak’s art style makes the cartoonish roach spewing venomous words somehow creepier. The clash between art and words creates a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Let’s talk about the art. Vrdoljak’s character designs are very reminiscent of Sunday comic strips (Nancy comes to mind), but the camera angles used in the panels and Vrdoljak’s sense of scene composition almost has a David Lynch feel. The entire collection of visuals has a surreal tone, but the imagery of the characters and how they interact with their surroundings are mundane. Again, the conflict between the normal and the dreamlike creates an undertone of surreality that’s quite compelling. That’s a lot of fancy phrasing to say the art is weird but in a good way.
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 Mikey, a little boy sent to his room for sneaking a piece of cake against his mother’s wishes. One minute, Mikey is playing in his room. The next, he’s gone.
Later, we meet Chris, Reggie, and Londi. The three children have special abilities they use to help children who run afoul of supernatural threats. Chris teleports the three into Mikey’s room when they learn of his disappearance, and they deduce Mikey was taken to Boogyland by Boogie Woogie. Chris tries to teleport the trio to Mikey’s location, but he’s blocked. Reggie concludes the only way to get to Mikey is to do what Mikey did – do something naughty to get sent to their room.
We conclude the issue with a piece of cake with gross ingredients, the Father of the Forest, and running with scissors.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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UNBORN FEARS #1 is a surprising indie project about dark forces that snatch away children and the unlikely trio of children who use their powers to save the victims. The story is surprisingly tight, well-paced, and cleverly plotted. The art will surprise you with a comic strip style seamlessly blended with surreal images and settings.
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