Sometimes going on a family outing is a good thing … except when it isn’t.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Victoria Rau
Artwork: Marcelo Basile
Letters: Charles Pritchett
What They Say:
A mother, seeking solace with her two teenage children after a recent tragedy, signs up for a group hiking and camping tour. But navigating the difficult terrain is the least of the hikers’ worries as the group soon finds they’re being stalked by unseen predators.
Content (please note that portions of review may contain spoilers):
Peek-A-Boo Gulch is a slot canyon wandering through the Utah wilderness, the narrow corridors of intimidating sandstone are not for the inexperienced hikers, but many attempt to venture through their maze-like tunnels to witness the inspirational views. Pam and her children Debbie, John and Maggie are among those are daring enough to venture out through those claustrophobic trails, but they wisely decide to join one of the group tours led by Duncan from his outpost overlooking the spectacular vista. While they wait for the rest of the ensemble to gather, we can see it is composed of adrenaline junkies, a couple of glamour campers and an obnoxious father with his son and other bullied stepson. After everyone gets their gear in order and the guide explains the rules and benefits of this trip, the assembled finally set off.
While the group slowly treads up the steep and rocky cliff face, Kincade points out the dangers of the area, warning from this point forward they must go single file due to the narrowness of the path. As Pam marvels at the native petroglyphs etched upon the stone wall, she can hear echoing the complaints and compliments of the various hikers, before they emerge from the passageway. Now able rest in before a magnificent waterfall, some of the explorers try to show off in front of the others, with little success in presenting a favorable impression. As the afternoon wears on and night falls, the tour finally sets camp, with everyone trying their best to set up their respective tents, as Duncan offers help only to be chased away by the overconfident. But as the teenagers go off to gather firewood, it is soon clear they are not alone within this wilderness and perhaps it would be better to stay together … for there is safety in numbers, right?
In Summary:
From the beginning of this title it is readily apparent writer Victoria Rau is trying to construct a teen scream horror film, trying to shock the reader with overly grotesque scenes and stereotypical characters. While I cannot but compare this narrative to classic movies like Friday the 13th or The Hills Have Eyes, this story drastically falls short of either standard by stranding the reader within a spurious attempt of generating any true fear in lieu of cheap thrills. In order to speed the narrative along, we are immediately thrown into the action, with little explanation as to why Pam or her family have embarked on this trip, allowing the audience to speculate as to the reinforcing dynamic which would allow us to care for these protagonists. The other characters are just as one dimensional, only giving names to those who will probably survive the first cataclysmic event, and supplying the others with generic personalities of being shallow, sexist or too vain for their own good. While this might be a plausible idea for a movie which will visually supply information within the first hour, for a medium which needs to keep the audience’s attention for what will be another four issues and equal number of months, this seems like a bad idea. If you want people to care about the characters and what will happen, you need to make the story worthwhile and capable of stirring the imagination without too much hand-holding or predictable tedium.
Normally when the narrative is mediocre and lacking in enthusiasm to present the reader with an atmosphere indicative of rewarding reading, we can usually fall back on the illustrations of a talented artist, but this time Marcelo Basile is equally guilty in weaving a lackluster and uninspired story. He falls into the same derivative pitfall of trying to create something new from a genre which in itself has become riddled with too many imitations of standards and thus, when you see the opening scenario, the reader cannot but think they have seen all this before. Even with the trite setup for a supposedly shocking death scene, the gruesomeness of a bloody and deformed body is neither terrifying nor impressionable, in fact, it just seems blasé. Perhaps it is due to being overexposed to this type of horror with current events and television shows, but there is no real shock factor within Basile’s images. While the beginning dark salvo may be enticing, this infatuation does not carry over to the pages where we are shown his wild imagination within the light of day. There is a gritty crudeness to his drawings which are enhanced by allowing himself to color his own work, however, once we are shown Basile’s brighter palette, this is then when we notice a serious flaw in this technique. From the first time we see Pam and her family, you cannot but wonder why they look so pale in comparison to the rest of the environment, but then you might be able to explain it from the bright sunlight. However that reasoning is soon tossed aside as he introduces shadows to his illustrations, it is only then when you question why all of the people either look jaundiced or pale from lack of sun. Even the eyes are overcast with this sloppy application of color, making the cast look sickly or haphazard in comparison to the rest of the carefully toned surroundings. It is only once darkness descends do people look comparatively normal, until a new light source is shown and all the flaws once again become glaringly apparent to a casual notice. If Basile was trying to create a nightmare, then he succeeded, but all in the most unintentional ways.
Peek-A-Boo is a fruitless attempt in trying to become an episodic tale of horror in a genre which has been oversaturated with too many similar ideas. While the story may seem promising, the attention to detail is brushed aside in order to create a narrative too dependent on enveloping the reader in a tiresome story told too many times. The artwork does not help either, instead, it traumatizes us to images which are sloppy and unappealing due to a rush to deliver nonexistent thrills. Together they give us a title which is unassuming and predictable instead of something worthy of the publisher which in the past has delivered wonder through terror. Hopefully, this story will get better, but at the rate it is progressing, it does not appear we have much to look forward to in the near future.
Grade: C
Rating: T (Teen)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: March 14, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
