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REVIEW: 'Phantom Road' #1 by Jeff Lemire, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and Jordie Bellaire

 


 
PHANTOM ROAD #1

Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Gabriel Hernandez Walta, Jordie Bellaire
Letters & Design: Steve Wands
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: March 1, 2023
Cover Price: $3.99

Dom is a long-haul truck driver attempting to stay ahead of his tragic past. When he stops one night to assist Birdie, who has been in a massive car crash, they pull an artifact from the wreckage that throws their lives into fifth gear. Suddenly, a typical midnight run has become a frantic journey through a surreal world where Dom and Birdie find themselves the quarry of strange and impossible monsters.

It's grindhouse horror meeting high-concept supernatural fantasy in the first issue of a bold new miniseries from JEFF LEMIRE (THE BONE ORCHARD MYTHOS, LITTLE MONSTERS) and GABRIEL HERNÁNDEZ WALTA (The Vision, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D: Old Man Whittier), the Eisner Award-nominated creative team behind the bestselling Sentient series.

Score:
★★★★☆ (4/5)

QUICK REVIEW: If you want weird and creepy supernatural sci-fi(?), then Jeff Lemire, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and Jordie Bellaire have you covered with their new series, 'Phantom Road.' What looks and feels like a low-budget indie grindhouse film, 'Phantom Road' examines the turbulent memories of a long-haul trucker who can't shake the instability of his childhood that's found him following in his father's footsteps. Dom is on the road in a desolate desert setting brought to life by Walta and Bellaire in dusty and beige tones. Walta's sketchy designs give the series a grounded appearance until things get bizarre and threatening. Dom comes across Birdie in a car accident and a mysterious artifact sends them to a strange world like our own but with monsters. It's a bizarre piece of surrealistic fantasy and character study. It invokes a little of M. Night Shyamalan's 'Signs' with the exploitative themes of films like 'Race with the Devil.' It's arthouse terror for comics and definitely worth checking out. 

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