With a spotlight preview here, below are my thoughts on new comic series Ill Vacation #1
US soldiers Mary and Bob are stuck in the middle of the Pacific Conflict, defending a tiny island under siege from bizarre creatures. Has the world turned upside-down and inside-out or has the war taken a more sinister turn? Yung, a secret agent, along with German POWs, Per and Elvira, attempt to solve the riddle and restore order. Their frantic investigation discovers that they are all trapped inside the minds of Bob and Mary, and things they are rapidly losing control. By reaching the two soldiers, they can learn what happened and undo the damage before it envelops the world. It won’t be an easy fight to stop giant monsters and vile beasts as everything spirals deeper into madness in this psychological thriller.
Writer Steve Thompson, artist Gonzalo Ruggieri, and letterer Hassan Otsame-Elhaou
Mysterious lights, strange creatures, and soldiers in WWII.
This first issue takes a large amount of LSD and doses us with it.
There’s a lot to take in here, but it builds up nicely with degrees of madness and paranoia. Lights in the sky are just the start, the higher-ups are acting shady and leaving this island at minimal resistance.
There is talk of the war going badly, and we have to assume it’s the war in the Pacific, but what if its something else.
On top of that, there are creatures and other thinks making it worse. I like the way it flips around though.
As a first issue it has a lot to offer. There is mystery – mystery of what is going on. As well as a lot of scope for character development. There are those on the island, those on the boat and the German POWs. I look forward to seeing how they all link together.
The creatures are something else. Nightmare fuel, with shifting shapes and ways of bursting out. The fluidity of it all is excellent.
That moves me nicely to the art. The style and the colours works well. With a brushed feel, kind of like a half-remembered dream. Or nightmare.
The colours work really well, the setting and backgrounds, with seascapes and army colors. Then you mix in the storms and, of course, the creatures.
This is something that is off the beaten track and worth picking up.
