The Hunt – created, written, and illustrated by Colin Lorimer – is a horror story that is a little off the beaten path, and I don’t just mean its Irish locale.

I start to feel old when flashback scenes for a teenager say they take place in 2010, which is when our hero, the haunted Orla, first sees what no one else can, a creature she calls The Slaw. Of course, seeing something that no one else can see doesn’t make you special, it makes you insane. Years later and in high school, we learn that she’s been “locked up” a few times and she’s, in fact, very unpopular. While she doesn’t openly discuss what she sees, she still sees them. Whatever they are. The two instances we see of them, they are probably something you’d be happier if you never saw in reality. While these creatures have kept their distance, they’re about to break that promise.

That’s the base story. Orla lives with her mother and grandmother. I won’t say what happened to the father, but what did happen to him, looks like it might happen again.

Colin Lorimer has worked at several comic companies, but his work as an award-winning storyboard artists helps his story come to life. The rhythm, the flow, the angles, what he chooses to let you see and when are all incredibly well thought out. I found myself feeling the tension build when it was supposed to. He’s quite a good storyteller.

Joana Lafuente’s colors create an almost monochromatic world. The use of light and shadows helps to define the drama and tension. Color is used minimally but serves the story when it is used. That’s how I feel about everything here. Nothing is wasted. There isn’t a single throwaway image or line of dialogue. It’s creepy in tone and in story, and Lorimer allows some of those base fears to begin bubbling to the surface.

It’s still too early to say how this will stand up to some of the other horror stories out there in the comic world, but it’s off to a notable start, more than enough to keep me reading.