You may know Alan Robert as the bassist and creative force behind the metal band Life of Agony, or maybe you caught his debut comic series Wire Hangers published by IDW. Now, IDW is teaming up with Robert once again to publish the comic mini-series Crawl to Me about a young family confronted by something horrific after moving into their secluded new home. Created, written, illustrated, and lettered by Alan Robert, this four-issue, mature-readers series aims to thrill and disturb you.
I had the opportunity to read the first issue, which will be released later this month, and from the atmospheric art to the script and story, Robert wastes not a panel painting a dark and sinister world from cover to cover. The art itself is an interesting mix of painted-over photographs, photoshop lens flares, and smeared, scribbly art work, and, though this wouldn’t work for every comic, it definitely adds to the unsettling tone of the story and works to keep the audience off-kilter for most of the read. The story is by turns, intriguing and disturbing, with a bit of humor thrown in for good measure. Creator Alan Robert says, “This is not your typical, run-of-the-mill, haunted house story. It’s more of a thriller, filled with a ton of demented mind-games that will keep you guessing. Think of it like a Twilight Zone episode on steroids.” We first meet our main character, Ryan Shelby, as he waits in a snowy countryside for a furniture truck to arrive. He and his dog Max are startled when a squad of police officers pull up in front of his neighbors’ house with guns drawn. You’ll have to read the comic to find out what happens next, but I can tell you there’s no shortage of violence, thrills, and a deep, cerebral creepiness. By the end, you’re not really sure what happened, and you have no idea why; all you know is you need to read the next book!
If you’re a horror fan, you will definitely want to check out this disturbing series. Find a preview of issue #1 of Crawl to Me online here: www.crawltomecomic.com. You can also purchase Wire Hangers, which is currently being developed into a feature film.
