Hello again fiends! I was tidying up around the Waiting Room and realized something was dreadfully lacking… reading material! So I sent out my trained bats to scour the newsstands and drawing desks of our fine world to find me something to placate the patient souls who visit my creepy corner of the world. Soon, I was buried in monstrous mounds of macabre material! I suppose now I shall have to sift through them all and report what I find, no?
First on the pile was a little comic book called “Dead Babies.” With a name like that, I just had to peek inside to see if it was worthy for the end tables and wire racks of the Waiting Room. Written and drawn by Franklin Fritts, Dead Babies represents this ghoulish Georgian’s decade long dwelling over the concept of foul mouthed “dolls” with the souls of humans. Made of potato sack material, thread, and glass jars containing embryonic souls, these little imps resemble what Little Big Planet would have looked like had Tim Burton designed the little sack creatures. The setting seems to be a large city with some runaway crime, not unlike any good comic book city. The background of the panels is sparse, featuring instead the exploits of the sack men themselves. The art does feel a little two dimensional, but many of the layouts during action sequences are quite inspired. We are seeing the artist find his style and learn his craft, which is an excitement that awaits anyone who dives into the world of self-published comics. Indy comics are creation for the love of the challenge and to spit in the eye of the establishment; something our good friend Dr. Frankenstein would tell us to revel in as well. Well, before his creator’s remorse. And disastrous wedding night. But I digress…
Our book’s plot revolves around these voodoo-esque animated dolls fighting to do what their souls drive them to do; either fight crime and clean up the streets or to create great mayhem. The art and story are decent, and I may have passed over placing this book in our archives except for something tantalizing its premise explores. The greater spirit of the story wrestles with the notion that souls are eternal and bent to a particular demeanor, regardless of the frame they inhabit. An evil soul will be evil whether it resides in a child or fabric-bound abomination, and a good soul will always struggle to find a way to interrupt the delightfully dastardly deeds of creeps and monsters (AKA “our people”). If the book survives its introductory arc to explore the richness within this topic, it will be a wonderful read indeed. I do hope the writer can rise to the challenge of exploring both the dark slapstick that seeded this tale in his mind while still in high school and the metaphysical condition his creatures represent.
So my fans, if you are interested in peeking into a new comic, stop by the Waiting Room, or click over to http://deadbabiesthecomic.blogspot.com to inquire further about adding this gleefully grim gem to your reading pile. See you all soon with some more medical mayhem, but until them, farewell!