What is more important … love or family?
Creative Staff:
Writers: Hans Rodionoff & Adam F. Goldberg
Artwork: Eduardo Garcia
Colors: Robby Bevard
Letters: Carlos M. Mangual
What They Say:
Let’s not mince words. Todd’s a loser. He has no job, no prospects, and almost no drive. With his wife ready to take the children and go, Todd buys the family their dream home. Todd takes a chance on a house that needs much more upkeep than a few coats of paint and new carpet. And little does Todd know, in the attic resides a terrifying and deadly spirit who does not do well with cohabitation. But while this frightening specter may have murderous tendencies, she might just be what Todd needs to turn his life around.
Content (please note that portions of review may contain spoilers):
When ex-wife Jess stops by for an impromptu visit, she panics Todd after asking for a tour of their future dream home, increasing his distress after insisting on seeing the property now, even as her former husband vainly attempts to block the doorway and coming up with numerous excuses to delay the visit until next week, only to then succumb to her adamant determination, much to his obvious chagrin. However as Todd rushes through the various rooms and shows off the improvements he has made, what Jess is most impressed by is a lack of alcohol in the kitchen, only to move onto the greenhouse which now serves as an artist’s studio, and pointedly asking who is the witch in all his latest paintings, and though he tries to brush off the grotesque inspiration as a figment of his imagination, Jess cannot but tease that perhaps she can become his new muse. But it is only when the lower floors are reviewed, does the assertive woman now wish to see the upstairs, which causes Todd to once again overreact, making the wife think he is hiding someone who he doesn’t want her to see, forcing her way past him to be delighted by a sunlit master bedroom and then surprise him once again when she plans to bring the kids and they will all move in this weekend.
However as the astonished man timidly waves at the departing car, it is the ominous growl from an attic window which signals he must now deal with an otherworldly problem, only to return inside and find Lady Katherine hanging from a chandelier with a disapproving look upon her disfigured face. But as Todd expresses gratitude to this phantasm for not gruesomely venting her frustration upon his visitor, the terrified man cannot but excuse himself in that he did not expect Jess to stop by, all while thanking this ghostly woman for helping to get his life back, only to then admit their romance could never work and foolishly closing his admission with the classic statement they can always be friends. And yet as Lady Katherine begins to cry tears of blood, Todd unwisely widens the gap in their separation by stating perhaps it is now time for her to move on to the next realm by leaving this house, only to jokingly close his crushing statement by asking if she had any questions or comments. In response to his callous lecture, the menacing apparition tosses the unfeeling man aside and proceeds to drag him upstairs into her hiding place, all while Todd continues to ramble on by demanding he wanted out of this relationship, boldly declaring even if she disemboweled him, it was over. He then receives his fitting answer with Lady Katherine throwing the unworthy man out the window, brutally impacting upon his car and to add insult to injury, the airbag releases a few seconds later to establish his partner did not wish to end it.
In Summary:
From the first issue of Possessive, we have known Todd will do anything to win back his family, allowing writers Hans Rodionoff and Adam F. Goldberg to open the series with this drunken artist draining their shared bank account to buy a questionable house, thereby causing him to encounter numerous problems until he finally confronts the source of this property’s woes – Lady Katherine Braidthwaite. Although this unfortunate yet ghastly phantasm may attempt to chase him off and kill anyone foolish enough to threaten her eternal solitude within this decrepit domicile, it is not until Todd eventually find his courage, both through comprehension of her circumstances and the bottom of a bottle, that the pair are finally able to reach an understanding. And yet while this strange association may become the foundation for the unlikely couple being able to heal each other’s emotional wounds, and disturbingly cumulate in an implied act of necrophilia, it is through this dubious relationship that Todd is able to solidify his newly found confidence and establish himself as a successful painter, thereby becoming much needed recognition and perhaps indirectly leading to former wife Jess showing up on his doorstep.
However it is from this guided narrative that readers are able to reach such an infallible conclusion within this finale, with Rodionoff and Goldberg firmly establishing the motivations of Todd from the beginning, thus overtly leading the audience to only one choice when our protagonist is confronted by the two women in his life – Lady Katherine or Jess and his children. But as he hopelessly attempts to comfort his otherworldly mistress, it is the classic break-up line which seals his fate: ”I just hope we can still be friends.”, with any audience member knowing the results of this phrase will provoke the wrath of the receiving party, made all the more dangerous due to the phantasm’s supernatural strength and unquenchable fury. Though this formulaic funneling of Todd’s decision, viewers know what will happen once the family moves into the house, especially if they recall Lady Katherine’s futile attempts to scare away her former lover or if they have seen any stereotypical haunted house movie; with the assembled group willing to do anything once the ghostly influence falls upon them, it creates a predictable ending that is bit of a disappointment for such a rousing tale which was open to possibilities, only to result in a closing which was hinted at before and brings the tale to a circular culmination with moments we have seen before in other anticlimactic medium.
For a series which should be geared toward scares with disturbing imagery, illustrator Eduardo Garcia ends the title with his same smoothly defined actors sporting gentle facial features, but instead of returning to the scarred and deformed visage of Lady Katherine which made an impact within the premier issue, reflecting her abusive past and simmering anger, for some unknown reason Garcia kept his uniform artistic style over everyone within this closing issue, including the deformed phantom. As a being whose emotional stability manifests within her appearance, after being rejected by Todd and essentially being told to leave the house she has been tethered to for over a century, there seems to be little change in her frightening facade aside from a darkening of the skin tone, made more practical in chilling readers’ opinion of this otherworldly being due to Robby Bevard’s somber palette for this ghastly ghoul, while keeping the surroundings more suitable due to lighter tones for the living. However it is due to this overall tonal brightness from other characters and scenery which lessens the horrifying effect of Lady Katherine, making her seem to be a stand-in actress wearing exaggerated costume and makeup when displayed within the same illumination, equalizing the emotional tension between herself and Todd, even if her dark persona is supposed to create a more ominous threat through her future actions. But it is not until this foolish man is hurled through the window does Garcia’s missed attention to detail draw a sigh of exasperation from the audience, allowing the unfortunate victim to land on top of a car with all of the painful concussive jolt, only to have the frightening result lessened due to an improbable air bag released from the roof, a reckless attempt in humor for what should be a epic turning point of the story, only to allow us to question if the creators of this tale are taking the telling of the story seriously.
Possessive appeared to be a promising tale of horror and redemption, and yet as the story progressed through the relationship between Todd and Lady Katherine, there was always the nagging feeling that this once pitiful man would never seriously accept this grotesque woman for his entire lifetime and her afterlife, only to now materialize with frightening results. In addition, with obscene subject matter and a profanity laced narrative which seemed too mature for a Teen title, then add artistic inconsistencies that caused readers to stray from their understanding of the situation, it makes one wonder this book ever thoroughly scrutinized itself in order to make a fulfilling series instead of an amusing escape from horror. With token characters that have little impact on the story aside from injections of humor, a foolish antagonist who is blinded by his own interest, and a narrative which trivializes multiple deaths as a convenient plot device, Possessive falls of taking itself seriously, all in an effort to shine a light on the need for redemption while revealing how the darkness of obsession can suffocate any hope for the same.
Grade: B
Series Grade: C+
Rating: T (Teen)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: October 20, 2021
MSRP: $5.99