Review: Pumpkinhead #1

Modern master of the macabre Cullen Bunn tackles the personal demons of man in the new Pumpkinhead series from Dynamite Comics. Based on the universe created in the horror movie franchise from the 1980“s the premise is that each evil dead done by man, has its own special demon. Focusing on the seven deadly sins, issue one in this new series puts emphasis the evil of vengeance.

Based in the backwoods hillbilly town of Wrightson Mills, a deadly hit and run accident has occurred. Instead of working with the local police to bring the perpetrator to justice, the Kinkade family seeks out Haggis, an old witch who can help summon the power of vengeance to rectify the wrong that has been done to them.

As done with previous horror titles like Harrow County, Bunn creates a deep world to get lost within. Characters and locations are married, to a point where the story would not be of such a high-caliber if settings or language were changed. It“s easy to believe the words on the page, even if you never want to consider such things could be true.

Upon first look at the comic, I was initially struck by the amazing cover art by Kelley Jones and Chris O“Halloran. The image harkens back to classic 1970“s horror and fantasy stylings and is easily one of my favorite covers in recent memory. The screaming head, being held in the mouth of a horrible demon, is the stuff childhood nightmares are made of.

If there was one question I had to ask about the story so far, it would be about the police. Sheriff Ferris, and her deputy seem like totally normal people. With every other character in the town or surrounding hills making the backwoods people from Deliverance seem like the Cleaver family from Leave it to Beaver, why would they be here? The story eludes to the opioid epidemic that is currently ravaging our country, and there is certainly, from what we“ve learned so far, a long-standing tradition of supernatural customs in the area. How in the world did these officers end up in such a small town dealing with this stuff, and how have they not been impacted by it? Hopefully we find the answer to these questions in future issues.

Horror comics have really exploded to the front of the stage for me recently. With modern masters like Bunn working in the field, it“s easy to be a fan. Aficionados of supernatural or horror titles should really give this book a chance.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Cullen Bunn (A) Blacky Shepherd, Kyle Strahm (CA) Kelley Jones

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Bryan Spaulding

In his free time, other than reading comic books, Bryan enjoys listening to his ever growing record collection and driving his 27 year old roadster named Mingo.