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POINT PLEASANT
by Chad Lambert, Ryan Scott, Jason Moser, Michael Gray, Dennis Murphy and Dan Barlow
($4.00,
Ape Entertainment)
Review by Matt Dembicki
I must admit, I wasn’t initially drawn to this book. Artist Steve Black painted a nice cover, but when I learned the story was about the Mothman, I lost interest. After seeing the 2002 film
The Mothman Prophecies, I didn’t think there was more to say about it or that it was possible to present the story in a more dramatic way. Well, never presume. Yes, the comic is about the Mothman, but it has an interesting twist: It’s about paranormal seekers from the future tracking the Mothman, from its origin as a Native American curse, to the creature’s supposed foreshadowing of the bridge disaster in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1968, to future events. Chad Lambert does an excellent job with the dialogue; it’s natural and punchy. Some writers overwrite, thinking that makes them better writers; in my opinion, a good writer knows when saying less actually strengthens the story — just as Lambert has done here. However, I wish the story was longer. It ended rather abruptly just as I was getting into it. Several artists take turns drawing the chapters, and each does a superb job setting a mood, which is key to the story.
Lambert dedicates a few pages at the end of the book to a Q&A with an eyewitness who allegedly was in a car chased by the Mothman in the late ‘60s. The interview doesn’t add much to the book, however; it’s rather thin on interesting details that you’d expect from someone who saw the Mothman.
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