URL:http://mdsmithcomics.bigcartel.com/product/blood-drenched-creature-double-feature
Author: Matthew Smith
Illustrator: Jeremy Massie
Genre: Horror
Oh, back for more? Well, here is another horror comic by Matthew Smith from the same double-comic as last week, this one just in time for Halloween. This time, we'll be looking at Bee Sting, a horror story based on 80's slasher films. Does this comic deserve more “buzz?” Or is it too much like the “Bee” movie schlock to be worth your time and money?
Writing
(Note:
Because this is a published work that costs money to view, I'll try
to keep the review as spoiler-free as possible.)
The
story is about two teenagers named Aaron and Kevin. Kevin wants him
and Aaron to sign up to be camp counselors over the summer because he
thinks that they'll get laid. Aaron doesn't want to and thinks that
the whole scenario is too far-fetched to be worth wasting two weeks
in the middle of nowhere. But Kevin insists on going, telling
Aaron's mom about the camp, but selling it as a volunteer experience
to put on their college resumes. The two go to the camp, meeting
twin sisters Ashley and April, and Aaron develops a crush on Ashley.
When Ashley gets a bee sting and April becomes concerned that
Ashley's allergic, Kevin and Aaron volunteer to drive the sisters to
the hospital. They become lost in the woods, they crash the car, and
they're stranded in redneck cannibal country.
In
Going
to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film,
the author mentions the backlash from religious groups that thought
that slasher movies were deprived celebrations of sex, drug use, and
violence. But the author argued the opposite, that the films
actually upheld societal views of appropriate teenage behavior, with
the killer forces being the ultimate punishment from breaking
societal mores. In Bee Sting,
you can see some elements of this, but to a lesser extent. Kevin is
driven by his libido, and his actions, even when he is doing
something good like offering to drive everyone to the hospital, are
tinged with a negative ulterior motive. Even though the other
characters are guilty of nothing or merely going along with his
plans, Kevin dooms them all to being eaten by rednecks.
Like
The Curse of Stranglehold,
the author clearly likes the material that inspires the comic, but
knows the flaws of the medium and tries to change it up. For
example, most people who've watched horror films point out the
plotholes. Why are they staying
in the creepy house instead of leaving at the first sign
something's off? Here, the characters are given common sense and
some genre savviness, but the comic is plotted so they can't leave
even though they want to. When Kevin asks Aaron “Don't you know
what happens at these camps, dude?” Aaron replies “People get
chopped up by a guy in a mask.” When Billy, one of the rednecks,
takes the group to his cousin's butcher shop for the party (though
they clearly just want to call the hospital and get out), April asks
Ashley in a hushed tone “Who has a party at a butcher shop?” and
Ashley answers “The guy in that Texas Chainsaw flick.” But the
plot is stacked against them. They have to drive out in the woods
because Ashley might be allergic to the sting, the nurse isn't at the
camp yet, and there's no cell phone reception where they are. By the
time they consider driving back, they get in a car accident. And
staying out in the woods isn't much safer (besides, even if they
refused to go to the butcher shop, the rednecks could have just drove
out there to hunt them anyways). And when they realize that they
won't get any help at the butcher shop, they aren't allowed to leave.
The reasons border on being contrived, but it's still better than
the alternative, making the characters complete idiots when the plot
requires it.
As
for the characters, the comic suffers from a similar flaw as The
Curse of Stranglehold. The
characters are relatively flat, because of the length of the story
and the necessity of the plot. I would say that Kevin probably fits
the horny teenager stereotype, though he is more likeable and more
fleshed out than Carlos in The Curse of Stranglehold,
or even the Mary Sue author avatars like Rayne Summers in Least
I Could Do, or Ethan MacManus in
Ctrl+Alt+Del. These
characters are usually do whatever they want, manage to seduce or
romance anyone they want, and if they have a straightman paired with
them, they usually are dragged along for the ride and have to clean
up the mess their wacky Don Juan-esque friend.
It
looks like Kevin and Aaron's relationship might be like this, with
Kevin going behind Aaron's back to drag him to summer camp, but
that's where the comparison ends. While Kevin was being underhanded
in his approach, it seemed more out of a genuine want to help Aaron
than because he wanted to. Likewise, Kevin had no problem with Aaron
volunteering him to drive everyone to the hospital in Kevin's car.
But as the trip gets worse and worse, April and Kevin turn out to be
incompatible and Kevin gets angry and reveals his true reasons for
his actions, and everyone shuns him for the rest of the trip up to
the butcher shop. The comic takes a more realistic take on the
character type, with some internal logic beyond wanting sex and
showing how such characters would actually be treated if they existed
for real. While the rest of the characters are so-so, I find myself
liking Kevin despite not necessarily liking the character type.
(Note:
Under Fair Use
policy, I'm allowed to quote the work and put up scans of the
illustrations as necessary for criticism. However, the more portions
of the book I post, the less of a chance I can use Fair Use as a
defense.)
The
art is black and white, the inking either done on paper or digitally,
it's hard to tell. The coloring is done digitally, with a midtone
grey for shadows. The art is stylized similar to Archie
or similar comics. Aaron, for example, has a long, thin face with a
long nose similar to Jughead, and Ashley and April wouldn't be out of
place in Riverdale. And yet, despite a style associated with such a
carefree, comedic teen comic, it doesn't feel out of place in a
slasher. The characters are highly expressive, and the tone of the
comic overall has more of a dark comedic feel. So the style works
well for the story.
One
effect I liked in the comic was a splatter effect used to represent
blood sprays. If the comic was inked by hand, it was done by dipping
a toothbrush in the ink and riffling over the bristles to spray the
ink on the page. If it was done digitally, it was done with a custom
brush made to simulate ink splatters. Either way, it does add a
dirty, gritty look that adds more gravity to the butcher shop pages.
The
only real criticism I can come up with is that the gray is done a bithaphazard, with some spots going out of where they're supposed to be
and in some cases, looking a bit scribbly like the illustrator just
needed something to fill the negative space. Maybe if the gray spots
were filled in better, or the black ink was used to imply depth and
value better, it wouldn't be as noticeable, but overall the art is
great.
Of
the two comics in the Blood-Drenched Creature Double
Feature, Bee Sting
is the better of the two. The writing shows the same love of the
genre while addressing its weaknesses, though the characters are
still mostly one-note and meant to react to the plot rather than be
active participants, though again, given the length of the story, it
would have been hard to do otherwise. The art is what puts this one
over the top, with stylized characters and some great inking by the
illustrator, though it still could be better. As for the book
itself, I would recommend buying it if you get the chance. Given the
two different stories here with strong writing, there's at least one
you'll like.
Averaged Score
3.5/5
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