By Keigen Rea — At a time when there are so many great horror comics, Red Mother doesn’t quite make itself into an essential read, but is still very much worth checking out. 

The series is about a woman named Daisy, who gets attacked by something while walking with her boyfriend. She wakes up in the hospital, missing an eye as well as her boyfriend. What follows is Daisy dealing with symptoms of PSTD plus a dash of creepy monster added for flavor. 

In broad strokes, the story so far (through five issues) is just creating horror out of a traumatic experience and looking at the aftermath. This isn’t the first story to compare PTSD to being haunted. A woman gets brutalized and a Black man gets dragged off screen. She’s into puzzles and talks to a therapist. This is not anything new within the horror genre, is what I’m saying. While the plot is lacking slightly in originality, the art does quite a bit to make it up. 

Danny Luckert does the line and color art throughout the series, and he does an incredible job. One clear highlight is the way that he is able to show Daisy’s varying emotions, but especially her terror. Her emotions make the book work, because her reactions are convincing enough to buy into what’s happening around her. Daisy is really just lines and color, but her fear is real, along with her anger, anxiety, sadness, and every other emotion she shows. It’s a technical detail that elevates every other part of the series by making the horror more believable and tangible because Daisy feels like a real person.

The design of the creature is equally fantastic, and that’s mostly due to its simplicity. A big inky figure, with sharp fingers, a white face, and a creepy smile is appropriately scary, especially when it keeps popping up out of nowhere. It works really well, along with much of the designs in the series. One puzzle is a very cool idea, and watching Daisy work through it is exciting to watch. 

The art is the main reason to check out this series, but writer Jeremy Haun deserves some credit alongside Luckert for the pacing of the series. Comics don’t have as many tools as prose or film do in crafting horror, and pacing is one of the most crucial parts of creating a successful horror comic. The Red Mother does this well, in it’s individual issues, and as a series so far. What I really enjoy about the series so far is that issue 5 goes in a totally different direction than I thought the series would go in, and it helps to demonstrate how the series is less about big moments and more about building toward those big moments. 

I am excited to read future issues of the series, especially to see how the monthly wait effects my enjoyment of the book. I have a feeling the wait will help the book more than it hinders it, but I’ll find out next month! 

Overall: A fairly middle-of-the-road horror story that’s elevated by fantastic art and design. Try it out if you’re craving more horror comics or if you’re interested in seeing how to create horror in comics. 7/10

The Red Mother  #1 - #5
Writer: Jeremy Haun
Artist/Colorist: Danny Luckert
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Price: $3.99
Volume 1: After losing her eye and the man she loves in a brutal mugging, Daisy McDonough is left trying to put the pieces of her life back together. Just when she begins to think she can heal, she starts to see strange things through her new prosthetic eye. And The Red Mother sees her in return. 
Release Date: June 3, 2020
Buy Issues Online: Click here!

Read more great comic book reviews here!

Keigen Rea is a behavioral assistant for students in grades K-8, and an online student who fears that the school he is at is a giant scam. He tweets about Star Wars, and comics @prince_organa on Twitter.