REVIEW: Some Strange Disturbances

Writer: Craig Hurd-McKenney

Art by: GERVASIO & CARLOS AÓN

Cover by TYLER SMITH-OWINGS

Layout and additional design by KEELI McCARTHY

A spiritualist with a secret to hide. A choral performer who can’t fit in. A Comtesse trapped against her will and in her own body. This is the set-up for Some Strange Disturbances, a Victorian Horror Comic from Craig Hurd-McKenney and Gervasio and Carlos Aon, featuring a diverse trio of main characters. 

The story follows Prescott Mayfair, a closeted homosexual hiding from his family in America AND from the police in London, where being gay is an arrestable offense; Delilah Quinton, a black choral performer now in London as part of a sponsored choral group; and The Comtesse, a young trans-woman thought to be possessed by her parents. It is with this unlikely trio that we explore Victorian London.

Some Strange Disturbances (SSD) is a great story with an abundance of positive representation for typically underrepresented characters. When I first opened the book the art was good, but I thought it may be simple? Or perhaps just a style you don’t typically see? As I progressed in the story and saw real Victorian newspaper clippings, it dawned on me that the art style was that of Victorian newspaper illustrations. This was a small detail that, after it dawned on me, added to the story.

The story was good and explored prejudices and taboos of Victorian England well. The climax of the story, however, felt a bit rushed and left me with a few unresolved questions. A couple more pages toward the end I think could have cleared up my questions and wrapped the story up nicely. Additionally, there were a couple of panels that were flashbacks that took me a moment to realize were flashbacks.

Editing, mechanics, and dialogue are all superb. Each character developed their own internal voice in my head, which to me, signals the writer is doing an excellent job of developing and writing the characters and dialogue. Speech bubbles were well placed, the story structured well, and the plot outlined properly and little to nothing distracted from the story’s progress. I also saw zero editing issues.

Some Strange Disturbances is the first of three books, the third of which, a book of Christmas ghost stories, just successfully funded on Kickstarter. I can’t wait to see how the characters and stories progress in future volumes. This is a solid 4.25-star book with lots of room to grow and plenty of stories to explore in future volumes!

Dialogue – 1 / 1 Star

Art – .75 / 1 Star

Mechanics – 1/ 1 Star

Editing – 1/ 1 Star

Story – .5 / 1 Star

TOTAL: 4.25-Stars