Today’s webcomic is brilliant one, so much so that it’s difficult to describe the plot without giving away too many details. I can describe it as a cosmic horror, a psychological thriller, as well as a tale of finding trust and friendship in difficult times. In the midst of the Great Depression, Wadsworth Zane is struggling with a nigh-hopeless case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a job as an encyclopedia salesman, and a growing pile of bills when he receives word of an inheritance in the distant town Broodhollow. Although his windfall may be the answer to his prayers, foreboding and terrifying dreams begin, warning him away from Broodhollow. Despite his anxieties, he travels to Broodhollow to find a happy and welcoming town, with residents anxious for him to occupy the vaccum left by the death of his Uncle Virgil Zane, an antique dealer and pillar of the community. Despite the town’s warm welcome, Wadsworth quickly notices the townsfolk don’t notice things that he finds incredibly alarming, to the point that Wadsworth begins questioning whether he may be truly hallucinating. Is Wadsworth merely hallucinating the frightening goings on in the town of Broodhollow? Or are his own neuroses the ones that make him capable of perceiving that his kind new friends and neighbors are in mortal danger?
The package that starts it all.
Broodhollow comes from a popular veteran of the webcomics scene, so it’s no surprise that it is punctual each week with a detailed and well designed website. Not only is it well-presented, but the writing is excellent. The creepy and funny moments are all timed perfectly with illustrations that alternate between bright and friendly and dark and truly terrifying. The colors are done in a water-color wash style which lends a sort of bloody realism to the clean-edged cartoonish lines of the scenery and characters. Even the typefaces are period appropriate to the art deco style of the website. This is a completely rock-solid read; and with the first book 200% funded on Kickstarter after only two days I have no doubt Broodhollow will thrill and terrify me for a long time to come.
Is this all in his mind? Or is this creature real?
The Author and his Other Works
The prolific Kris Straub had been publishing webcomics for over 13 years now, with the completed sci-fi humor and drama Starslip and the currently running gag daily Chainsaw Suit. He partners with Scott Kurtz on the Blamimations segment at PATV. Some of the elements that lead to Broodhollow came from his microfiction horror site Ichor Falls.
