COMIC REVIEW: OUTSIDE: AN ANTHOLOGY

by Matthew Price 

Outside is a collection of bizarre, macabre, and unsettling horror comics. Like most anthologies, the offering is hit or miss. I loved some of the stories, and hated others.

But that can be chalked up to personal taste. The overall quality of the both the writing and art is very high. The stories that resonated with me may not resonate with you, but if you’re a fan of horror comics, you’ll definitely find something in here that’s to your taste.

So, with that caveat, here’s a few of the contributions I particularly enjoyed:

The Boy Who Became Invisible (written by Joe R. Landsale and illustrated by Daniele Serra) isn’t a traditional horror comic. There are no monsters or masked serial killers. Instead, it’s a very realistic story about how abuse and neglect can create a monster in the real world.

Shiv (written by Chesya Burke, illustrated by Jennifer Y Cruté) is a supernatural story that explores how even the most sympathetic character can become terrifying. Though set in the Jim Crow era, it has a lot to say about modern race relations.

Colours is a great story by Maura McHugh, combining psychology with the paranormal. But what really stands out is John Riordan’s art. The coloring is on point (as you’d assume by the title), and he creates real dread from minimal line work.

There’s much more to enjoy in this collection of 10 stories: art by Gabriel S Moses; collage by Winston Chmielinski; and a creepy anti-story from Lavie Tidhar

With Outside, editors Amir Naaman and Doron Hamburger sought to collect horror stories of the kind that they had never read. I think they largely succeeded. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something different than your standard superhero comic book.

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