GET YOUR SPECS ON FOR A GREAT NEW COMIC SERIES!
Man, great narration and world-building makes the world go ‘round. Just ask David M. Booher- he gets it!
Booher is the writer of Specs, a new series from BOOM Studios. Created by Booher and Chris Sheehan, illustrated by Sheehan, with colors by Roman Stevens and letters by Jim Campbell, fans of Rain, Something is Killing The Children, and House of Slaughter have their next story armed and ready for them!
What’s It About?
Specs follows Kenny and his best friend Ted in high school in the 1980s. Both young gay men, we see they have their own struggles and bullies to face. That is, until some magic glasses come in. Of course, they came out of a comic book ad! What could possibly go wrong?!
Where Are My Strong Characters And World-Building?
This first issue does such a great job setting up this world of Specs. Issue 1 gives us a spectating look into the most important aspects of Kenny’s life. Much like Booher’s Rain, we start with narration from our main protagonist almost instantly- and it works! Even at the age of 27, I feel like I can relate to this teenage boy, particularly when he says things like:
“Even assholes deserve to be found, I guess”
That “I guess” at the end is GENIUS! It immediately shares a relatable personality trait with us as the readers. Furthermore, it shows that Kenny is not an “all-good” protagonist. He’s capable of feeling and doing things that aren’t morally or socially acceptable, and his general attitude gives a distrust to what he says, almost immediately making him an unreliable narrator. OOOOO how I LOVE unreliable narrators!!!
And no, I’m not being sarcastic at all! Truly, unreliable narrators make for fantastic storytelling (I said fantastic, not accurate). Especially for horror/mystery stories!
I am SO eager and enthralled to see how this mystery going on horror story unfolds!
What About Those Visuals?
Chris Shehan’s wonderful and intense art brings so many layers to Booher’s writing. From the first page, each panel of our protagonist moving through a house is captured through multiple magnificent angles that create a sense of distrust and uneasiness in us as readers. You’ve got to read to see how scenes in the woods flourish with Shehan’s lines!
The art of Specs wouldn’t be complete without Roman Stevens’ colors. My goodness- the color palette is filled with dulled blues and dark yellows/purples. It gives every page of this issue an uneasy, eerie feel to it that helps create this capturing atmosphere from us as readers. It feels like a mix between a Steven Speilberg film and John Hughes film from the 80s. *chefs kiss*
Even on intense pages filled with multiple images over one spread, and multiple trains of narration/dialogue, Jim Campbell makes each page easy to read and follow. I imagine many letterers struggle with this feat, particularly with such levels of narration, but Campbell does it flawlessly.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Specs is another BOOM hit from BOOM studios! Booher, Shehan, Stevens, and Campbell make a killer team that’s bound to keep all of us readers on our toes. I’m so excited to add this to my pull list and see the mystery unravel! If you’re a fan of great mysteries, 80’s vibes, and stories like Rain, Something Is Killing The Children, and House of Slaughter call your shop NOW and add this to your pull! It releases Nov 9th, 2022!
You can find Lauren, Your Friendly Neighborhood Bi, at all her links here: beacons.ai/friendlynbhdbi
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