Cold Spots #1
Image Comics
Cullen Bunn is at his best when writing horror, and he has been releasing an impressive amount of creator-owned horror titles as of late. The newest title is Cold Spots, a five-issue miniseries with artist Mark Torres. Unlike previous titles, Cullen Bunn trades most of the jump scares, and shocking images for a tension-filled debut, and it mostly works in Cold Spots #1.
This debut issue opens up with a fairly chilling scene, before introducing readers to Dan Kerr. Dan seems to be a protagonist that the reader can’t trust, with a shady aura and a genuinely mean demeanor. Dan has been contracted to find two missing people, and his search starts at Quarrel Island.
Bunn effectively establishes how scummy his characters are. The only thing readers will be able to truly grasp about Dan is that he has a shady past and is full of mean quips. He is a hard character to sympathize with, and it isn’t clear if this will have a major impact on how invested the reader will be later. As a first impression, the actual story is much more interesting than the characters. This is especially true because this is far from Bunn’s best writing when it comes to dialogue. Dan’s quips are mean, but most of them are also fairly cheesy. It’s hard to say whether or not this is intentional, but the dialogue did get a few eye rolls from me.
Otherwise, Bunn succeeds in just about everything else he needs to for a solid first issue. The world is creepy, and there is a constant atmosphere around the characters that is unnerving. The atmosphere is further emphasized by artist Mark Torres, who has made the world appear to be grim and almost hopeless. The cold temperature surrounding the characters appears to be the source of their horror, and Torres makes the cold visibly noticeable without distracting the reader from the characters and setting. Cold Spots is a good looking book, but the art is fairly inconsistent throughout, with odd color choices, as well as shading which just doesn’t work in some panels.
Cold Spots is another solid horror series by Cullen Bunn. Despite the few issues with the dialogue and art, this is a chilling story with an interesting premise. It’s not wildly scary, but fans of the genre should certainly give this one a try.
Cold Spots #1
Cold Spots is another solid horror series by Cullen Bunn. Despite the few issues with the dialogue and art, this is a chilling story with an interesting premise. It's not wildly scary, but fans of the genre should certainly give this one a try.
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Story
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Characters
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Art