The List is a serialised Australian graphic horror novel (in the literal and genre sense of 'graphic') that has been gathering a lot of buzz over the last two years. I have had the first (and to date, only) two published volumes in my possession for more than twelve months because until now I lacked the necessary skills to write a thorough and informed review of
The List, taking into account the nuances of the genre and the graphic novel medium. Having read Australian horror comics extensively this year - and having had some of my own short works published in Australian horror comics recently - I now have a more thorough understanding of how to approach this review.
The List is published by Dog with a Bone Studios and is the brainchild of script writer
Paul Bedford and pencilled by
Henry Pop. Issue 1 is inked by Henry Pop and issue 2 by
Tom Bonin. The lettering is done by
Avi Bernshaw and
Fleur Andrews. This team has combined to create a visually impressive project. The covers, both featuring sinister-looking angels - uncredited in issue 1 and from
Wayne Nichols in issue 2 - are evocative of the contents and set the stage for what might be a supernatural or psychological tale of violence, depending on the reader's perception.
This ambiguity drives much of the narrative's intrigue. The reader receives almost no clues as to who the characters are (beyond their roles of 'Son', 'Father', and 'Mother'), and more importantly, their motivations in acting the way they do. Make no mistake:
The List is a violent story. The Son inherits from his father the duty of maintaining a list of commandments that he carves into his flesh. Whenever the Son completes a commandment, he strikes it off with the nearest sharp object. The Father, and later, the Son, are inspired to fulfill these bloody commandments by an angel, but whether this angel is a supernatural force or a combination of psychosis and intra-family brainwashing is anyone's guess. This ambiguity is central to the story, and at times, even the Son seems confused when confronted by the ghost of his father, whom he ultimately comes to believe was sent by the angel to test him (rather than a hallucination).
The plot in the first two volumes, which cover the honouring of three commandments, is simple: following the death of his father and mother, the Son follows in his father's footsteps, carves the commandments passed onto him by his father into his torso, and then sets out into the world to honour these commandments. The honouring of these commandments (so far, anyway) seems to involve the Son finding low-lifes, beating them to a pulp, and then murdering them.
While violence is almost a requirement in the horror genre, the repetitive nature in which the commandments are honoured through murder lacks imagination. While there are still (presumably) seven more commandments to go, hopefully the writer will come up with more ingenious ways of fulfilling his protagonist's list (perhaps creative disfigurement or forced penance such as those found in films such as
Seven or
Saw - or even acts of contrition on the Son's behalf, such as self-mutilation or denial of desires). As it stands, although the Son is a possibly divinely-inspired serial killer, his murder spree is anything but. Of course, it's early days, so the writer may address this in future issues.
The commandments themselves are a mystery, as the only clues the reader receives are that the Son's first honouring was out of order when he was forced to fight (and kill) a nightclub bouncer, and later, the third commandment involves carving 'Justice' into a mugger's chest and then murdering him and his mate. Having a better sense of what the commandments are and how they are to be honoured would increase reader interest.
As it is, issue 1 is 48 pages and issue 2 is 72 pages, and in these 120 pages (which equate to more than 400 panels), very little actually happens to propel the story forward. Most of the action is confined to the Son coming to terms with how to honour his commandments and being tested. By the end of volume 2, the back story is beginning to be fleshed out, but it is slow going up until that point. At the very end, the reader is introduced to two intriguing developments (a possible successor to the list and the Son's first glimpse of the angel), but these mere two pages don't make up for the earlier snail's pace. Unless something abrupt happens in subsequent volumes, the arc of the story could span 500 or more pages.
The only significant female character is the Mother, shown as a corpse referred to as the 'Sacrifice'. Her two full-page, nude, mutilated appearances as the Sacrifice are reminiscent of the '
women in refridgerators' treatment of women in comic books. Although
The List website says her murder as the Sacrifice was consensual, and there is a small cluster of four panels in volume 2 that show the Father and Son praying next to the woman before she is sacrificed, one has to wonder where her clothes disappeared to (in the pre-sacrifice panels, she was wearing clothes right up to the point of her murder, but even though she is later shown dead on the exact same bed, her clothes have disappeared and she lies naked). Is this simply unnecessary gratuitousness? Hopefully, future volumes will explain this discrepancy.
Although there are problems with the pacing, the depiction of the Mother, and a lack of clarity concerning the commandments, Henry Pop's pencil work is to be admired.
The List is a dark, brooding story, and Pop's artwork captures the mood of the story well. Dark borders, heavy shading, and bold lines tell the story effectively, especially given the dearth of dialogue and character interaction.
While the first two volumes have their faults, there are encouraging signs that Bedford and team are improving. Volume 2 was a more rewarding read than the first, and with the developments of the last few pages, new plot lines are being introduced that should test the Son in ways that will hopefully engage the reader. After a sluggish beginning, I'm looking forward to seeing the momentum build and the mystery of
The List resolved.
Volume 1 and 2 of
The List can be purchased directly from the
publisher's website.
This review is part of the 2010 Australian Horror Comics review series by Shane Jiraiya Cummings. To read other reviews in this series, search for the Labels 'Oz Horror Comics'.
