REVIEW: October Faction #1

Summary

One of my favorite things about online auctions is how they’re like a garage sale. You never know what you’re going to find.  More importantly, depending on the auction how cheaply you can get some books. 

Yes. I brought up the cost of a book. I’m a geek on a budget. I have a finite amount of cash at my disposal for comics. When the new books are running $3.99 and up I’ll be all over auctions that start bidding at $1.00. You’d be surprised how often a bid under $1.75 gets you the book you wanted.

I’d like to clarify that browsing these sales is primarily a quest for reader copies. I don’t dabble in the speculation game or flip books. On the rare occasions that I do sell to some of my friends they’re paying what I paid for the book plus shipping if applicable. I am not expecting to find an Incredible Hulk #181 on these searches. I’m looking for a chance to check out a new title without breaking the bank.

I came across October Faction in one of these online auctions. The first impression I had from the cover was that this reminds me of a darker version of The Umbrella Academy. That’s fitting because you can see on the cover that this book has also been made into a series on Netflix.

October Faction is the tale of the Allen family. We have the father, Frederick, a former monster hunter that is now a college professor. The children, Geoff and Vivian, are in their late teens to early 20’s. They don’t seem to play well with others. The mother, Deloris, is something of a mystery. All we know about her is that her relationship with Frederick is very strained. 

The interior artwork was very well done. It reminds me a lot of Jason Shawn Alexander’s work in Killadelphia… Except that Mr. Worm’s work is more detailed.

The story is a bit rough getting out of the gate. It’s not the first time I’ve seen that with a new title. The writer has to establish a setting, give characters personalities, and give the reader enough of a hook to keep them coming back. It’s not an easy task. I believe Mr. Niles did all of these things. 

We’ll get to know the characters better with more time. The same goes with the story. It has a great foundation. I’m eager to see where the story takes us.

With Frederick the dialogue is very informative. Geoff and Vivian’s interactions left me chuckling. I hope we get to learn more about Deloris.

All said I found this issue to be very interesting. If I stumble across more October Faction books in the future I won’t hesitate to add them to my reading stack.