It’s October, which means it’s the time for ghosts and goblins and thus enters the trade paperback North 40 written by Aaron Williams with art by Fiona Staples.  I’m not sure how to exactly describe the series except it involves hillbillies, Cthulhu with a little bit of Tales From The Crypt and My Science Project thrown in.  This is a horror comic, but there’s so much more to it too.

It all started like this.  Conover County wasn’t never much more’n a spot on a map in th’ trunks o’ a car.  Now it ain’t even that… it’s worse.  We can’t leave.  We can’t go out at night.  Some of us can’t even call ourselves human no more.  We got a few folk on our side what can do things a son of Adam weren’t never supposed to do, but… well, I reckon it’ll have to be enough, or we’re all bound for the pit.

The story is pretty simple.  Two social rejects unleash an evil power and two other rejects need to stop the evil.  We’ve seen that story a million times and there’s nothing wrong with that at all.  That familiarity allowed me to focus on how the comic stands out.  While many of the town people have remain unchanged there’s also those who’ve completely changed and that’s where the comic pops.  Just random conversations occur and then something is thrown in there really quickly.  It stops the seriousness and adds the humor that works so well in some horror.

If you’re a horror fan, the series is worth checking out.  I want to see where it goes as it leaves a lot open, and it’s definitely a crazy world worth exploring.

Plot: The comic is a crazy mix of so many horror and science fiction with a nice dash of humor thrown in.  I can’t say it’s original, but it sure is entertaining.  The characters play up the hillbilly stereotype to great humor and the mix of normal people and monsters keeps you on your toes as to what to expect.  It’s definitely creative and most importantly, fun.  Rating: 8

Art: The art is great, giving lots of character to, well, the characters.  Each individual is just that, unique.  And they are all very unique in design.  Their abilities are very much reflected in how they’re shown, and there’s some fascinating and disgusting designs.  A perfect mix and what I want for a horror comic.  Rating: 8

Overall: North 40 is one of those comics that are just fun and perfect for this time of year.  It’s fun, entertaining and creative.  The story definitely has enough that I want to see what comes next and for those who enjoy a good horror story should definitely check this one out.  Overall rating: 8

Recommendation: Buy

Page count: 144 pages    Price: $17.99    Release Date: 11/10/2010

DC and Wildstorm provided Graphic Policy with an advance copy of this issue for FREE for review.