REVIEW: The Offspring

Creator: David Whalen

Writer: David Whalen

Pencils: David Whalen

Inks: David Whalen

Colors: Jason Sylvestre

Letters: David Whalen 

Editor: Brian Menard

Publisher: Correct Handed Comics

The Offspring #1 by David Whalen is not your typical comic book. From the word go it hits you in the gut with real world problems and goes from there.

Our story begins ten years ago when a young girl, Sara, is running out of a house into a cornfield. A drunk man (her father?) is pursuing her with ill intentions. Sara trips and falls allowing him to catch up with her. 

The man puts down the rifle he’s carrying to unbuckle his belt and undo his zipper. This leads to him dying of natural causes. Naturally, when you’re shot in the gut in the middle of nowhere you’re not going to survive.

We then fast forward to the present day. Sara is down to the last two days of her prison sentence. She’s been in and out of jail ever since that fateful day and looking forward to life on the outside.

The story then shifts gears to two boys, T.J. and Kyle, that are looking at a dirty magazine at a bridge near the woods when they’re kidnapped by two men. The men are talking about how “the group” will love the boys.

We then shift gears again to an alternative school where a man named Tavish is looking for T.J. Tavish needs his friend Will’s help to find him. Apparently Will has a psychic ability.

Before Will can do that the police need his help with his friend Vince. Vince is having suicidal thoughts and the police want to talk him down and get him the help he needs. By the time Will gets there he’s slit his wrists but is still alive.

We’re going to shift gears one more time to see a cult leader talking about all the children that have been collected and the “cleansing”.

Artwork:

.75 Stars 

Overall the artwork is clear enough to tell what is happening. There are some panels that seem to have multiple vanishing points, which gives them a somewhat distorted view.

As a parent I really liked the panel when the child molester is shot. Well done!

Story:

.75 Stars 

I can’t believe how much is packed into these 24 pages. The issue is full of backstory, which will lay the groundwork for even more character development as the series goes along. It reminds me of a Quentin Tarrentino movie. Some of the transitions are very abrupt and can leave the reader trying to figure out where they are in the story.

Dialogue:

.75 Stars 

The dialogue between Sara and her cell mate goes a long ways toward giving her character more depth. I would have liked more to give us a clue about Tavish. Is he T.J.’s dad or big brother?

Editing:

.5 Stars 

I caught a typo that slipped through proofreading. That can happen. I’m more concerned about the lack captions to give locations/dates/times to help give the reader more of a setting for the story.

Mechanics:

.75 Stars

This story pulls you in instantly. You feel Sara’s panic. You’re right there with Will checking on Vince. Smoother transitions will help keep the reader submerged in this book for the times in between.

While it is in no way a funny book meant for children, I found it enjoyable and look forward to seeing what comes next. 

Grab your copy – https://correcthandedcomics.com/

Read our interview with David Whalen – https://indiecomixdispatch.com/interview-david-whalen-of-correct-handed-comics/