Picked this one up from the writer/artist last summer at MASSive Comic Con in Worcester MA USA.
Title: The Sleeplessness
Date: 2016
Publisher:
Fat Cat Funnies
Writer:Jay Kennedy
Artist: Jay Kennedy
Editor: Lindsay Moore
Full-color standard format 36-page horror comic. This is a classic horror tale set in a cursed and abandoned amusement park on an island off the coast of Maine.
Teenager Lukas Lein faces the impending death of the grandfather who raised him, the same man who was once part of a work crew constructing a private amusement park on an island for an eccentric and very wealthy recluse. The opening of the park ended in horrifying circumstances, and now Lucas makes the decision to go to the island to find one of the few remaining mementos of the parents who he never knew. With his grandfather dying of cancer, Lukas has only a short time before he will be leaving the country to live with his only other remaining relative.
Recruiting his two best friends for the expedition, Lucas finds himself confronting an ancient and demonic evil.
If you're a fan of scary clowns and mascots and creepy old theme parks, you will love the look of this book. The villain has a great vibe that is menacing and disturbing.
The interaction between the three friends is handled really well, and all three are likeable characters.
I did find the writing to be wordy, overly so in places, although part of that is an old-school goth ghost story flavor that the author is going for. It still could have done with a bit of trimming on the narration. The dialogue was quite good and did its job.
The ending is a nice bit of tragedy that packs an emotional punch without relying on the expected tropes for this type of story.
Rating: 8/10
