PICKS OF THE WEEK! Thursday, June 3rd

This weeks Picks...

I am a huge horror fan. So much so, I have an annual tradition of watching as many horror movies as I can between September 1st and Halloween. I called it “Septober.” Get it? September and October mashed? I know, lame, but I like it. My affinity for all things horror made checking out this new Conjuring comic series a no brainer. I truly wish more mainstream horror comics existed. Almost as much as I continue to campaign for a Sgt. Rock monthly series to return.

The first issue of the Conjuring series opens with a gruesome ritual sacrifice, complete with burning a picture of a young girl. We then jump to Connecticut in 1981, where we meet Jessica, a struggling college student, returning to campus for her second semester, determined to get her grades up. She deeply misses her friend Katie, but we don’t know yet if Katie is dead, or just not at school with Jessica. As the issue continues, Jessica keeps just missing weird things going on around her, that we the reader are in on. As ritual chants come from the library, and hands reach from the shadows, etc.

Complete with a full backup story from Scott Snyder, this first issue of the Conjuring was really good at establishing an uneasy tone, similar to the first 20 minutes of a horror film. I particularly enjoyed that they chose to let us in on what was going on, to an extent, where Jessica does not, increasing the tension and mystery. Jessica also comes across as someone we can root for, and are therefore emotionally attached to. Important in any horror story. I’m hoping this is a good sign of an enjoyable series, and hopefully more comics from this “DC Horror Presents” line to come.