Mountainhead #2
John Lees (Author) • Ryan Lee (Artist/Cover Artist) • Doug Garbark (Colorist) • IDW Publishing
Reviewed By A.S. MacKenzie
- Print Length: 32 pages
- Publisher: IDW (October 2019)
This is the second issue of a new title from IDW. For a review of Issue #1 to read before reading this review, please click HERE
If you recall from my review of issue #1 of Mountainhead, I confessed to being a big fan of the story, pacing, and artwork. It was incredibly original in concept, delivery, and design. The artwork conveyed the necessary horrors of the world, not just in actual depictions, but in method and atmosphere. Easily, it was my favorite debut of the year.
This second issue laughs at my praise, gives me a high-five, and says, “Hold my beer…”.
We open on Abraham having a near Lovecraftian nightmare about the mountain and what lurks beneath. What is this eye he keeps seeing and what does he have to do with any of it? Sitting with his newfound sister, in his newfound, home, wondering what is going on in his newfound life, Abraham decides to give the town a bit more of a chance. Mostly, this comes at the begging request of the new sister. Begrudgingly, he goes out into the town where the constantly smiling faces are making him feel even less secure. Even though he is trying to give it a chance, the town isn’t letting him. While he and his sister are investigating a pile of rotting meat that randomly appeared on the street, a crazed elderly woman jumps out a snowbank and warns Abraham to leave while describing the eye he sees in his dream.
Meanwhile, the police are investigating the man who ran naked, bloody and screaming into town by visiting him in the hospital. He tells the tale of a giant who slaughtered the rest of his team and is seriously neck-deep in some mental trauma because of it. Yet, somehow, a little later he is home safe with an oddly strong smile on his face as he feels his son’s pulse in their neck. You know, typical parenting…
Abraham’s “dad” who had kidnapped him escapes violently from the hospital, killing an officer and taking his clothes, all while obsessively saying Abraham’s name. We last see him in a stolen car heading down the road, presumably towards Abraham’s new home.
More twists, turns, horrors, and psychotic episodes happened in this issue than the first. Not making this better than the first, but pulling its readability, appeal, and memorability to new heights. I am obsessed with this new comic story and cannot wait to see where it leads. I’m certain that anything I’ve thought of for the ending won’t even be a pale imitation of what we will see.
Let’s go.
Mountainhead #2
In Braeriach, everyone is happy and strangers smile at you on the street.
So why can’t Abraham shake the feeling that this is all a trap?
Why does he keep having the same horrific nightmare?
And, as Abraham struggles to adjust to his new life, his old life may not be ready to let him go.
You can buy Mountainhead #2 from IDW Publishing
A. S. MacKenzie
A. S. MacKenzie is an Atlanta based author who loves all things books, movies, games, and comics. He lives with his wife, spoiled dogs, and an unhealthy obsession with building things. He can be found building worlds in books, building plastic models, or building with wood. Check out his website at asmackenzie.com for ways to join his newsletter and read free stories. Also, he’s been known to frequent Twitter (@a_s_mackenzie) to say something vaguely interesting and Instagram (a.s.mackenzie) for food, travel, and random pics.
Ice Where There Was None
A block of ice in a Florida park. A victim posed inside.
The first officers on the scene struggle to maintain the melting evidence.
Then it happens again.
…and again….and again…
While the officers wonder why they are always the first on scene, their department begins to wonder the same.
You can claim a copy of Ice Where There Was None via A.S. MacKenzie’s library
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