I remembered the very first time I saw Candyman. The movie not only was good, but it was far too relatable. Tony Todd as the titular character exhibited something both frightful and had a clear connection to America’s past. Where others saw purely a horror film, I saw how much society devalued black lives.

The movie followed a graduate student doing a thesis on urban myths when her path leads her to Southside Chicago. She discovers the legend of Candyman, the ghost of an artist and son of a slave who was murdered in the late 19th century. The movie was terrifying and so true to life. I’ve had friends who have died, like those in the movie, where deaths were thought of as common and the police and medical response were slow to respond. It’s a reality which people in wealthier neighborhoods know nothing about. As cities have grown, so has everything with it. That includes the number of residents seeing the rising trend of urban redevelopment, gentrification, over the last 30 years. That brings its own complications. In Ezra Clayton Daniels and Ben Passmore’s exquisitely crafted BTTM FDRS, these creators examine an antagonist much like Candyman, but this time through the prism of gentrification.

The comic takes to a different part of Candyman’s Southside Chicago. A place called “ The Bottomyards” a highly gentrified area. A pair of city workers have a strange encounter with something hiding inside the apartment building where they’re working. As the city worker who got attacked goes into a frenzy, he runs into two friends moving in, Darla and Cynthia. Even though they’re excited to start a new part of their life, they’re not sure what to think of the building. Even their apartment has a inexplicable surprise waiting for them. Darla becomes conflicted. This is the same neighborhood her Dad grew up in, but it’s nothing she knows about. Something is very strange and utterly apparent to her and Cynthia.

Overall, both a powerful and enigmatic tome that at its size feels as though this story could go even longer. These two creators are at the top of their game. The story by Daniels is well developed and masterfully told. The art by Passmore is both endearing and captivating. Altogether, a story that feels like where Sorry To Bother You left off but peels even more layers than that iconic film did.

Story: Ezra Clayton Daniels Art: Ben Passmore
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy