The Autumnal #8

The Autumnal #8

Vault Comics 2020

Written by Daniel Kraus

Illustrated by Chris Shehan

Coloured by Jason Wordie

Lettered by Jim Campbell

With Sybil's fate uncertain, Kat at last faces off with Clementine Biddle -- who is not what we expect. Grief and rage power this horrifying finale.

Oh boy that first page! I’m a sucker for a splash page to begin with and to see one of this calibre well I certainly wasn’t expecting to see this. I think that’s what makes it all the more powerful an image if I’m being honest. Speaking of honest by the time I got to the last page of this book I had goose pimples because of what I had read. The whole thing just creeped me out and I was at a loss for words as to how it all played out. That nursery rhyme being what it is is probably what got to me he most. That was creepy as all get out. That this is what I would consider a complete story, the second one this week too, and has a definite conclusion and doesn’t need to be revisited is something that impresses the heck out of me as well. I mean this really is a complete story with a beginning, middle and ending that feels like it is done.

I love the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development we see through the dialogue, the character interaction and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter are magnificently rendered. That opening alone had Kat horrified and confused but doing what needed to be done and that speaks volumes. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists & turns along the way it draws us deeper and deeper into the story.

I greatly appreciate how we see this being structured and how the layers continue to grow, evolve and strengthen right up to the last page. The intense characterisation, the plot twist and the overall ferocity that things happen in these layers whether they work to enhance the main arc or simply swirl around it really add this depth and complexity to the storytelling. The way we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved exceedingly well.

The interiors here are absolutely amazing in how they set the mood, tone and feel for the story. The linework is strong and through the varying weights and techniques that we see bring about the detail work is really astonishing. That we see backgrounds the way that we do not only enhances the moments but works within the composition of the panels to show depth perception, a sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope of the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show an extremely talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is actually quite brilliant. The brush strokes effects and the stark white tree branches are eerie and definitely make this creepier than you are expecting. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work really show an amazing eye for how to maximise the usage of colour.

​

This is what happens when you allow creators to really cut loose and let them unleash their creativity which in turn creates a story unlike any other. With no constraints and letting them tell this the way they envision it really makes this so much larger than life and creepier than you can almost handle. With some amazing writing and characterisation alongside these brilliant interiors this is worthy of the midnight double feature picture show.