By: Ben McCool (writer), Nikki Cook (illustrator) and Tom B. Long (letters)
The Story: A writer continues investigating why a small town had its memories erased.
What’s Good: Creepy and unsettling. That’s the best way to describe Memoir. Last issue established all the basics for this story: small town where everyone lost their memories due to some sinister but mysterious “event” + writer has gone to investigate hoping to break the big story. With that out of the way, McCool and Cook can really crank up the creepiness.
Once again we get fragmented images from the day of the event. It’s unclear whose perspective these memories are from or what is going on, but the continuing mystery is unsettling as we see townsfolk running away from dudes in hazmat suits. Interestingly, this is not the only mystery as there are also shadowy figures lurking around town. It’s unclear who they are or what they want, but they seem evil.
Most of the story development comes from a meeting between our writer and the one person in town who seems to have kept his memories. Of course, he can’t come right out and say what happened (that would spoil the story, huh?), but instead gives a chilling and confusing account of what happened to him on that fateful day. The creators were obviously trying to create a feeling of unease in the reader and they succeeded with me.
Throughout the story, McCool does a very good job of playing to Nikki Cook’s strengths. She really knows how to establish an uncomfortable air in a panel by using things like low camera angles, tight shots of character’s faces and when to go with a black background. The most effective scene of the issue involves a weird girl in a hospital gown who is straight out of a Japanese horror film. And, all of this is done in B&W which is so much more effective for this type of story.
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Filed under: Image Comics | Tagged: Ben McCool, Dean Stell, Image, Memoir, Memoir #2, Memoir #2 review, Nikki Cook, review, Tom B. Long | Leave a comment »
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