Aaron Williams takes a divergent left turn from Nodwick and other gaming funnies to turn his attention to crafting a Lovecraftian horror tale. I came into North 40 without any knowing anything about it, I pretty much bought the thing on a whim. On the surface, it’s a really good looking book and given enough time to grow this could become a really solid series. But I don’t think it’s there yet.

Williams introduces us to a little town where an unfortunate book is opened and the whole place goes to hell. We are treated to people eating each other’s heads off, turning into bat monsters, people murdering people; and therein lies the rub. Even though this is a tale that really seems to love HP Lovecraft’s stuff it takes the monsters without the suspense. I think this series could really use a bit more subtlety. This issue is really just carnage. There isn’t a single character to call the protagonist yet and since it seems that everyone in the town is doomed already I’m not sure where the story can escalate to.

The art, on the other hand, is great! I really love how the characters can blend into the background colors, almost becoming part of the setting. Fiona Staples helps create a wonderfully creepy atmosphere. I especially loved the Cthulhu tentacles that creep into the borders of the comic from time to time.

This is a comic that’s still up in the air. This first issue is a little weak on character development, but is sure does look good. For those horror fans it might just be worht a look.