Created and Written By: Mark Kidwell
Pencils and Inks By: Mark Kidwell
Colours By: Jay Fotos
Letters By: Jason Hanley
The Scream Factory
The bone-chilling third instalment in the Bump mini-series takes everything you thought you knew from the first two issues and throws it in a bloodbath screaming, “THIS IS HOW IT REALLY IS!”. I may be slightly over exaggerating the plot twists that you witness in this issue but, I was severely unprepared for the consequences of having these realizations. Most of which left my entire body in goosebumps. Women be wary, nightmares may ensue.
Alex, Tina and Brett are still holed up in a room at the Dill residence. Their future death-bringer has made little effort to get them out, leaving them hopeful that JD had killed him – but Kidwell wouldn’t allow such happy endings. Out of curiosity, the trio gaze through the bedrooms window only to find their hope of survival has been chewed to bits, literally. JD is dead. Not by the hand of Edgar though. Instead the killing blow was at fault of a hungry group of his undead, wooden, man-eating minions.
After witnessing the death of their friend the trio prepare for battle and are promptly joined by the retired cop, Gil, raising their chance of survival from Super Screwed to Possibly Survivable – a great advance on the hope scale when being chased by a madman and blood-hungry 30-year-old corpses.
With his arrival, however, came the wrath of several of the wooden women and it is at this moment that you meet Tina’s more bad-ass side. This little, teenage girl kicks into survival mode and invents an all new kind of whoop-ass for these monsters and boy do they eat it.
Thanks to Tina’s bravery, they are in the clear but not moments after, the madness begins…once again and this time there will be a casualty in the form of a husband longing for his dead wife. Brett is exposed to the wooden creature his wife has become and runs face first into disaster. She has lured him there to be eaten with Tina, Alex and Gil forced to watch the show. Ending with one last grizzly, blood-drenched image of Elaine eating her husband’s head it ends in shock and a craving for the finale in Bump #4.
I have left out some twists and details because frankly, in some situations, words can not describe or give honour to the madness Kidwell has created. Jason and Freddy, as much as it pains my heart to say, have nothing on the shock-value of Edgar Dill’s actions and abilities. Not only can he himself return from the grave to haunt who he wishes – he can also bring his victims back as a much more durable and mad version of themselves.
Another aspect of the plot I was very impressed with is the connection that is built between you and the characters despite their impending doom and the time frame given – a mere 4 issues. I felt a great amount of both spite and sympathy in regards to their experiences in the Dill household and it made the tale much more gripping and satisfying to read since sympathy is an aspect of horror that is left out in many modern works.
By smoothly combining the creepy ambiance of ghost based thrillers and the brutal, in your face gore of slashers the result is a fast paced and shocking experience that has left me more panicked and distraught than any comic has in the past. Maybe I am just a sucker for a good genre crossover or the fear of my womanhood being set in wooden drawers by a maniac makes me want to see his these women prevail; I truly found this to be a ridiculously fun read. Priced for free at Graphic.ly there is no reason you shouldn’t be giving it a chance, unless you are the weak of heart of course.
I tip my imaginary top hat to you Kidwell, you done good.
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- Bump #2 (comicsforge.com)
- Bump #1 (comicsforge.com)
- Beneath the Valley of Rage #1 (comicsforge.com)
- Hack/Slash #32 (comicsforge.com)
- Weird Zombie Horror #1 (comicsforge.com)
