Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Casefile: Arkham: Her Blood Runs Cold

01 Publishing sent me a few books awhile back, and it turns out the first one I read isn't out yet. That's ok, I can still talk about it. Yeah, I read a digital version, and had a few moments of frustration typical of my experience with digital comics. That's a format flaw, not a flaw in the comic itself.

No matter, I can still chat about the story and art a bit.

As to the art, it's pretty good black and white art, with a lot of noir touches. Sure this could be done in full color, but even then, a limited color scheme would work better. But B&W is a good feel for this. In some ways, I almost feel the art is trying to be a touch too realistic in terms of styling, but I prefer more impressionistic touches for this type of story.

What is Casfile: Arkham? It's setup to be a series of graphic novels, all of them standalone. Why? Because too much continuity scares people. Because the pulp hero novels are that way. The stories are part noir detective, part eldritch traditions.

The writing, also is pretty good. I should mention that there is some sexual content in the book. Storywise, it fits, same as the depiction of "ancient religions".  But, neither thing fit everyone's taste in books, and some will read it, but don't want graphic novel versions for various reasons.

There's insanity, scheming, plots for power, and appeals to ancient evil. 01 put up a trailer for you to check out, it doesn't show much, but it's something:



I honestly enjoy the mix in Criminal Macabre a bit more, but this is pretty good stuff. And if you like the horror of Things Man Was Not Meant To Know, this might tickle your fancy. 01 Publishing has their motto as "No Safe Space". I can get behind that.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.


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