Written by
Michael Moreci and Steve Seeley
Art by JM
Ringuet, Axel Medellin, and Emilio Laiso
I
don’t quite know what the appeal of shows like Ghost Hunters or Searching for
Bigfoot or whatever is. Clearly if there
was anything interesting, it would be shown on something other than a SyFy
show. Or, as Hoax Hunters’ premise goes,
maybe not.
The
Hoax Hunters are Jack, Regan, and Ken, who set out to disprove various urban
legends and videos that seem to be showing the supernatural. At least that’s what they are on the
surface. In reality, they’re hired by
the government to investigate these events and make sure that the public
believes nothing happened. In this first
arc, the team investigates a Louisiana swamp where mass groups of animals are
turning up dead, and the answer has to do with the disappearance of Jack’s
father. The arc’s four issues are
bookended by standalone issues, with issue 0 about an astronaut suit filled
with crows, and #5 having to do with a past case of Jack’s father.
The
concept of the book is the real hook here.
The idea that things like Bigfoot and the Jersey Devil being real is
always interesting, and having a group cover it up and then showing it as “reality
TV” is great. I also like what we really
get to know about the group. At one
point we find out that Regan, who has psychic powers, was originally shown on a
daytime talk show before joining the group.
It’s a bit of bald exposition, but it’s also a very interesting moment
that makes me want to know more about the characters’ pasts. It’s the world that really has me hooked
here, and it’s likely what’ll keep me reading, since I found this first arc…not
weak, necessarily. It’s not a weak
arc. In fact, it’s a very strong arc
that propels the overall story of the book into overdrive. And that’s part of my problem. I tend to like it when the first arc of a
comic is just getting us into the world and bringing us in, and then later things
can really start going. I guess it’s a
case of “too much too fast” for me.
Which is likely why I appreciate the standalone issues more since they
help build the world. The final issue in
particular really gives us an idea of what the creatures act like in the world.
The
art is fine throughout. My one problem
is that issue 0 has some very stylized art from Ringuet, only to go into
Medellin’s more realistic art. There was
a moment of having to flip back and realize that Ken and Regan were still the
same characters, because the two artists draw them differently enough. The creature art definitely excels
throughout. Whether it’s a classic
monster or something new, it’s that combination of terrifying and unique.
The
collection has a good amount of special features. The cover gallery is unnecessary. I’ve complained about cover galleries before,
and considering how cool some of these covers are, I really wish they were next
to the issues. There’s also some apparently
promotional images for the series, which are nice. A single sketchbook page for the creation of
Murder, the crow-astronaut, is a nice insight into character development, since
he was apparently considered for several other series before being used in this
one. The real star here, though, is a
short story about the Mothman, done in the style of a kids comic, which I loved. It doesn’t feature the Hunters at all, but it
does flesh out the world and what the creatures are like, which is fine with
me.
If
future arcs of Hoax Hunters focus a little more on the world before getting
back into the big plot, I think it could be a series worth watching. This is still a good comic, but it’s just
that tiny step away from being a great comic.
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