REVIEW: Death Head #2

Created and written by Zack Keller and Nick Keller art by Joanna Estep published by Dark Horse

I’ve been trying to figure out how to start this review and all I can think off is; I loved this.

No really, it’s just that, Â bloody good. The gist is, a family come back from a dodgy holiday in the woods, the youngest boy has the ghost of a little girl for a friend, the mums pregnant, the teen daughter is a little cow and the dad’s having visions. Top it off with a supernatural murderer and a ghost town and you have a really full comic that’s so well paced you glide through it like a greased up toddler in a jungle Jim tube.

The writing contains two word balloons that will stay with me forever “Knock it off with that turd shit willya” and “Dad, you look like ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag”. The Kellers give each character a voice that resonates with individuality and moments of emotion that generate empathy in the reader. Maybe it’s the fact there’s two writers, bouncing ideas off each other but they produce very natural dialogue.

The art is odd, and a little rough in places, the faces specifically but it’s a pleasant contrast to the genre. Usually horror comics go for stretched perspectives and deep shadows withe elongated anatomy but Joanna Estep’s art is more traditionally superhero. It gives you enough to look at without crowding the page and the style actually makes the horror moments stand out. And it’s never ‘rough’ enough to take you out of the story.

The whole package is a delight, nuanced, detailed in a well rounded setting. I will be buying this.