Comic Book Review: Red Mother #1

Red Mother #1

BOOM! Studios

Writer: Jeremy Haun

Artist: Danny Luckert

BOOM! Studios has done a fine job of releasing some of the best thriller comic series on the market right now. Red Mother is a horror series written by Jeremy Haun, who is known for Realm and The Beauty. The writer is a bit inconsistent in my opinion, and he has taken some great concepts and made fine books. Unfortunately, most of his works start out great and sort of fizzle out after an arc or two (The Beauty is the biggest example of this). After learning about Red Mother, I found myself with high hopes, but I couldn’t help but be cautious about this one.

In Red Mother, Daisy finds herself losing her eye and partner in a sudden attack. Now alone, Daisy must cope with her loss while dealing with strange, horrific visions. Jeremy Haun’s script is solid and tells the story well. The characters are understandable and easy to empathize with. Some of the dialogue is a little cheesy and might remove some readers from the experience.

Red Mother doesn’t fully embrace its horror themes in this issue. Instead, Haun focuses on the trauma of the experience. It’s good for creating a character that’s easy to connect to, but this issue just isn’t all that exciting. Still, while Red Mother is a slow burn, there is still fine pacing throughout. Nothing feels rocky or jarring, and if you are the right kind of reader you will enjoy this issue.

Danny Luckert does a fine job of pushing Haun’s script forward with solid art. While the script doesn’t allow for the thrilling moments to carry much weight, Luckert’s art adds the chills that these scenes need. The art is clean, with simple character designs that get the job done. The design of the titular antagonist is a bit too basic for me, but maybe she will evolve in appearance as the series progresses. The characters appear emotional when they need to, making this an easy issue to read through.

This isn’t the strongest debut, but it successfully establishes the characters and stakes. There is a lot of room for Red Mother to grow, so it’s worth keeping an eye.

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