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Fixation #1 is an interesting look at toxic fandom

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Fixation #1

When superfan Taylor Van Owens wins a contest to stay in the legendary Mallard house—the most iconic filming location for the hit vampire book turned movie Blood Mountain—she and her best friend Karrah arrive in Vail expecting to sink their fangs into a weekend straight from a fangirl’s dream. The cast has reunited for a tenth-anniversary celebration, devotees have descended on the small town, and nostalgia hangs thick in the air. But shortly before their arrival, a young woman is found dead inside the Mallard house. The death is quickly brushed off as an unstable fan taking her fantasies too far, but rumors swirl as the police quietly open a murder investigation. With cameras rolling and ravenous Blood Mountain buffs to appease, production works overtime to keep the story from leaking, insisting the fandom is “one big family,” but unease spreads through the town. Resentful locals, jealous superfans, sensitive actors, and desperate producers overwhelm Taylor as she moves in a haze through meet-and-greets, vigils, and book signings. Every interaction feels loaded. Every corner holds a potential threat. Every vampire has a taste for blood. And the killer isn’t finished. They’ll stain the town red to ensure they go down in Blood Mountain history. This isn’t just a random act of violence—it’s a crime of passion a decade in the making. Fixation #1 kicks off an interesting concept that feels like it’s a bit of Scream mixed with Twilight and a focus on toxic fandoms.

Written by Amy Chase, Fixation #1 is a pretty solid start introducing the key characters and teasing the killer threatening a fan celebration for a popular book and movie franchise. The comic, and story, feels like it has a few influences and things it’s playing off of, but it all comes together for a nice horror franchise of its own. A superfan wins a contest to stay at the home of the popular film, but a murderer is stalking the town and has some connection, or beef, with the film and its stars.

Fixation #1 could easily just come off as the start of a horror story but Chase delivers interesting moments and plot points that make the debut a nice commentary on entertainment. A cover up by the studio would be enough but the lack of care about how the fandom is treating each other, as well as a shift in attitude when a star is threatened, feels like there’s more that’s being said. It’s a comic that can be enjoyed on multiple levels, from the slasher enthusiast to those looking for something a little more elevated and meta in their horror.

The art by Savanna Mayer is good. The style fits the genre well but there’s a roughness to it that doesn’t quite click for me. When it comes to the art, there’s nothing necessarily negative but overall it doesn’t play with its concept enough. We see the killer far too often, instead of teasing it out. The “scares” don’t really deliver as much as they should or could. It’s a lot more forward with cards on the table as far as what it reveals instead of teasing things and letting the tension build. Mayer is joined by James Fenner on color and Sandy Tanaka on letters and the trio deliver a comic that’s visually good but doesn’t really stand out from the pack.

Fixation #1 is a solid debut that shows off a lot of potential and interesting aspects. It has a little more to say than being a simple slasher and I want to find out more as to what’s going on. Overall, it’s a good start and fans of horror definitely should check it out.

Story: Amy Chase Art: Savanna Mayer
Color: James Fenner Letters: Sandy Tanaka
Story: 7.75 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.6 Recommendation: Red

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

The Twilight Zone #1 Returns the Wonderfully Weird World of Horror and Delight

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The Twilight Zone #1

A terrified citizen regales a detective with a story about people suddenly frozen like statues. A once-bustling metropolis becomes quieter by the minute as people are replaced by featureless versions of themselves. Where one would have found hopes, laughter, tears, and struggles, one can now only find BLANKS…here in The Twilight Zone. The Twilight Zone #1 revives the classic property for more tales of horror, dread, sci-fi, and weirdness, all with some moral lessons underneath.

The Twilight Zone #1 kicks off with “Blanks,” written by Dan Watters and focused on a rich individual looking for immortality and a short time to find it. Like all stories of this variety, there’s things we look for, like a lesson underneath or an exploration of our current world. The Twilight Zone #1 delivers that teasing the horrors that will be unleashed upon the world by the rich and powerful who think what’s know what’s best and act out in their own self interest. The Fountain of Youth is a focus of so many in the tech industry, so the debut hits upon a reality and obsession that exists and it’s an obsession when you learn the details, you want to shake your head in disgust.

The black and white art by Morgan Beem is good. There’s some solid horror as what is unleashed is revealed. With lettering by Sandy Tanaka, it comes off as a weird dream that turns into a nightmare using visuals we’ve seen before but have a lot of meaning behind them. The art plays off of reveals and beats that have been done so many times before but it’s done well and the overall pace and key moments of the comic hit well visually. Like the story itself, the combo with the visuals create a fun sit back and enjoy it vibe of a story that feels like it’d be weekly television to tune in to.

The flaw of The Twilight Zone #1 is that it feels like a short read. Like it should be part of an anthology or a comic that features at least another story It’s not that it’s bad, it’s that we want more of it. This could work great as a graphic novel or manga-ish digest type release. As single comic issues, it becomes a bit dicey of feeling if you get the value to it. “Blanks” goes by quickly, but it’s really solid. Wanting more overall isn’t a bad thing right?

Story: Dan Watters Art: Morgan Beem Letterer: Sandy Tanaka
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Read

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Humanoids Announces New Staff Expanding Editorial, Design, Sales & Marketing, and Media

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Humanoids Publishing has announced new staff to kick off 2022. The publisher has recently named Sean Brice as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In his new role, Brice will oversee the sales, marketing, distribution, and consumer strategy for Humanoids English-language publications in Print and Digital. 

Brice previously spent nearly a decade at Dark Horse Comics, most recently as their Director of Trade Sales and Book Marketing. During his time there, he was responsible for dealing with distribution partners and managing sales and marketing for all Dark Horse books. Brice has worked on top-selling series such as The Umbrella Academy, Berserk, The Witcher, and Plants vs. Zombies and with world-renowned authors such as Neil Gaiman, Chuck Palahniuk, and Margaret Atwood, as well as with such licensors as Netflix, Nintendo, HBO, and Sony. His marketing and sales expertise led Dark Horse to numerous bestsellers on the New York Times and Amazon lists. He is a two-time graduate of the University of Oregon, most recently with a Master’s in Business.

In editorial, Humanoids has appointed Marvel veteran Jake Thomas as Executive Editor. During his time at Marvel, Thomas worked on several high-profile series including The Punisher, Black Widow, Venom, and Alien. He has over a decade of experience in the industry pitching and developing projects, hiring talent, and guiding book production through all stages of development. Thomas is also an accomplished writer of both short stories and screenplays.

Beth York has joined Humanoids as Development Director, Film and Television, leading creative endeavors and development in adapting the media company’s IP portfolio for film & TV. Prior to joining Humanoids, York was a development executive at Original Film working on such shows as Amazon’s Emmy-nominated The Boys, S.W.A.T. for CBS, Happy! for Syfy, and I Know What You Did Last Summer for Amazon, in addition to an extensive development slate. Before Original Film she worked at Sony Pictures Television in Drama Development and at Paradigm Talent Agency.

Finally, former Dark Horse employee Sandy Tanaka joins Humanoids’ Design Department with twenty years of design and marketing experience, starting in music and film and entering comics publishing nine years ago. Tanaka’s responsibilities include graphic design on its publications as well as assisting the media department with presentations.