Atmospheric horror is subjective. What makes one person anxious puts another to sleep, as was the case with me and It Comes at Night, though others loved the film. And maybe that’s what’s happening with Christopher Cantwell’s Everything.
RELATED: Everything #1 is Missing Something [Comic Review]
The comic is trying to set up a creepy atmosphere. The police have opened an investigation into a series of suspicious deaths since the superstore opened in issue 1. The reader knows more than the officers, seeing the connection between the store’s influence and those “accidental” deaths. Cantwell also makes a point of showing the way the store draws people in, having Eb describe his business there saying, “no, you know it was a… weird day, a man—burned alive, and…I’m feeling…well heck, I just wanted to come look around… no reason…odd, huh?” None of it has gripped me, though.
Lori, the series protagonist, has a nose bleed and falls into deep hallucinations when she’s having an MRI. It’s still not really clear how she fits into the mystery. Maybe it will all pay off in the next few issues, but it feels aimless now.
Credit where credit is due: Cantwell has an inherent understanding of the comic medium and how to get the most of his splash pages. He uses them for strange images that underscore the messages of his series, using them to perfection in She Could Fly. There’s another great one in this issue.
I.N.J. Culbard also continues to bring Cantwell’s visions outside of the splash pages to life as though it were part of a superstore catalogue, which again, is perfect for this series about a sinister big box store.
Wicked Rating – 5/10
Dark Horse Comics will release Everything #2 on October 2, 2019.
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