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Rat God #1

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    Ian Jane
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  • Rat God #1



    Rat God #1
    Released by: Dark Horse Comics
    Released on: February 4th, 2105.
    Written And Illustrated by: Richard Corben
    Purchase From Amazon

    Written, illustrated and colored by the great Richard Corben (with some help on the coloring from Beth Corben Reed), Rat God #1 is the beginning of a new series in which Corben draws deep from the well of Lovecraft while working some interesting native American folklore into his story as well.

    When the story begins, a native 'faltered' at the sight of a leering 'unearthly visage!' Achak and his sister, Kito, are on the run, moving through the forest as quickly as they're able. They are fleeing both the Cthanhluk and the Tlingit, knowing that both will kill them. The head south when those they spy head north, figuring south is the way to safety but once they're out in the woods, Achak knows that bad spirits have followed them. They spot what they believe to be a helpful forest spirit, hoping it will aid them in their escape, but Achak tells his sister that what they see if actually Wu-Ji, the vulture. Not a good omen, and neither is the totem made of corpses that they stumble upon.

    Night falls and they make it until sunrise the next morning. As the break to eat some berries, Achak's chest is pierced by an arrow - someone is attacking and he tells Kito to flee and meet him at the river in three days. Achak battles those that were following them and things get bloody. Three day later, Kito shows up at the river. Her brother is not there but she meets a Caucasian in a car who is as surprised to see her as she is to see him. She disappears and he figures it was a figment of his imagination, particularly once he meets a man named Chuk who knows the driver from Arkham. He knows this man is Clark Elwood, Kito's friend, and he tells Clark that he's her brother.

    They stop for gas and ask the old man at the station for directions to Lame Dog, and once they leave Chuk asks Clark why he was rude to the old Indian man. Clark plays the Aryan card, at which point Chuk has had enough and he gets out of the car. Clark stops, they fight, and Chuk makes off with his car. He starts the long walk ahead of him, snow starts to fall and through a flashback we learn how he met Kito when he was a student at Miskatonic University. As he strolls down memory lane and simultaneously through the woods, he loses track of things and finds himself in a perilous situation…

    From the familiar one-eyed, cloaked narrator to the story of survival, down to the art style and the completely unnecessary (but no less awesome for it) nudity, Rat God #1 is pretty much classic Corben. At only one issue in so far this tale would have easily fit in alongside other stories the a vintage late sixties/early seventies horror anthologies where he cut his teeth, titles like Creepy and Eerie or whatever underground comix issue you'd care to name. While he hasn't gone full on into horror mode yet, the gears are obviously starting to turn here and this inaugural issue is obviously laying the groundwork for what is yet to come.

    The Lovecraft influence is there, and it's not just the Miskatonic name dropping but more the whole 'old gods' dark vibe that the series creates. The period in which all of this takes place fits the tone too, and the native American mythology mixes nicely with all of this. Corben's always been a remarkable creative talent, there's no reason not to expect a fun ride and some quality shocks from this series. The artwork is up to his typically awesome standards and Rat God shows all the signs of becoming yet another classic to add to his huge body of work, even this early in the game.






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