Comic Review: Haunt #1

Writer/Co-Creator: Robert Kirkman
Layouts: Greg Capullo
Pencils: Ryan Ottley
Inks/Co-Creator: Todd McFarlane
Color: FCO Plascencia
Letters by: Richard Starkings
Covers by: Todd McFarlane, Ryan Ottley, Greg Capullo
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99

There are certain comic writers who, when they have a new series come out, you just have to pick it up. Robert Kirkman is that writer for me. So with his works Invincible and The Walking Dead well into their double digits, and Marvel readers seeming inability to "get" The Kirkman, when I saw that he had another series coming out, Haunt, I jumped onboard.

Ok, confession, I honestly am not sure how well received Kirkman's Marvel work has been, but appearances suggest lukewarm at best. Hopefully the appearances do deceive here, though Robert writes better with his own characters.

Another confession...I don't automatically love everything Kirkman does. I'm looking at Tech Jacket here. Astounding Wolf-Man is ok, but not good enough to keep considering the vast number of comics that I am biologically compelled to purchase and the effects the villainous Inflation has had on the global society.

But I always give The Kirkman a chance. Does that sound like a dance? Do The Kirkman!

So Kirkman teamed with McFarlane to create Haunt, which filled me conflicting feelings. McFarlane was a favored comic star at one point...90s...and now, not so much. He's still a great artist, and Spawn when it started was excellent, but Spawn's costume stopped having color in it, and after awhile all the characters drawn by McFarlane with fluid-ish costumes (Spawn, Venom) start blurring together. And the cover looks like the same sort of thing...but I was going to see what KirkFarlane could do...

Haunt #1 focuses on feuding brothers Daniel and Kurt Kilgore. Daniel is a priest and Kurt lives a life of espionage and danger. Daniel hears, unhappily, Kurt's confessions when he ready to unburden his soul of the dirty deeds he must do in his line of work.

But when Kurt gets tortured to death, Daniel thinks he's losing his mind when he starts seeing his dead brother. Worse he also hears Kurt plead for Daniel to protect his wife from the men who killed him. But then when men arrive to kill Daniel and Kurt's wife, Kurt enters Daniel's body to protect him, and Haunt is born.

The book certainly feels significantly McFarlane-ish, but with a heavy dose of Kirkman flavor, and it tastes good. Kirkman's characterization makes the disgruntled pair an appealing and interesting team. It's important to note that typically when two characters are at odds, there's one we are supposed to like and one we are supposed to not like, and if that's not supposed to happen, sometimes it happens anyway. However, Kirkman is able to keep both characters appealing. Daniel doesn't approve of Kurt's life, but Kurt doesn't lack morals and his moment of doing the right thing makes him a sympathetic character caught in a violent lifestyle.

The art is nice. I'm not an artist and not positive how all these things work, but I felt like McFarlane's inks overpowered Ottley's pencils, which probably added to the McFarlane feel. But Ottley's still seen in there.

Haunt #1 is definately worth a look. If you passed it last week, pick it up today and check it out. Your decision won't haunt you...