Bad Thoughts Comic Book Review

When I walked into my local comic shop, I had every intention to pick up one comic. Typically, that is my rule, one comic, and I'm out of there because if I stay too long, I end up spending most of my paycheck. I picked up this week's planned comic, and as I was walking out, I saw what looked like the set of a Claymation movie; only this one seemed just a little more sinister. The models stood at about a foot tall, and they had this very uncanny valley/Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe to them I couldn't help but find out more. Luckily the creator was sitting right there.

Matt Gonos is an independent comic book creator and writer of the comic book series "Bad Thoughts," a horror anthology in which every issue focuses on a different story similar to "Tales of the Crypt" and "Are You Afraid of the Dark." What sets his comic book apart from almost anything I have seen, and what ultimately attracted me to it, is that instead of using hand-drawn or computer animation to fill the panels, creator uses leather to craft these wonderfully detailed models (who all kind of look like Leatherface). Each panel is filled with fully realized scenes that look similar to screenshots from a movie, and each character is full of expression. Unfortunately, I forgot my digital copy of issue one at the comic shop, so issue two was my jumping on point.

The story begins with some alien humanoid named "The Nibbler" crash landing into what looks like a cornfield with only one thing on its mind, the need to feed. Not too far away tension rises at a local dive bar when a card game between an EMT and couple of bikers goes bad and Sandra, our heroine, confronts her cheating husband who is currently on a date but little do they know their night is about to get much worse. Ultimately this is a story of a monster trapping its prey in a confined location and how they try to survive. I really enjoyed the set up of the book. It introduces us to an interesting group of characters and a monster that is unique and creepy as hell which is very reminiscent of the beast from Jeepers Creepers It was especially nice that the book had a strong female lead as well as a well rounded cast of characters.

This being a horror anthology, we don't get to spend too much time with each character. Still, the time we do spend with them is used well enough, and the author does a good job giving us hints to how the cast relates to one another without beating us over the head with too much exposition. I only wished that more time was spent with the monster terrorizing the group. Don't get me wrong when the shit hits the fan; it was fun and gory, but I wish there were more. Now that could be a testament to how enjoyable the comic was, but I wish there were more nonetheless. Also, I feel that although the panels where excellently framed, I do wish the onomatopoeia graphics were a little more comic bookish if that makes any sense. I just thought they were a bit static. But honestly, this is just nitpicking in what is an excellent, unique, and fun comic book.

I don't typically read independent comic books, but I am pleased that I picked "Bad Thoughts" up. It's beautiful, odd, gory, and, most of all, fun, and I can't wait to get my hands on issue 3.