Ice Cream Man #1
Story by W. Maxwell Prince
Art/Cover by Martin Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran
Review by KrisK
Image Comics has released Ice Cream Man#1, a new horror anthology from the minds of W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo, and Chris O’Halloran. Every issue is a different story set in a small town in Middle America. The eponymous Ice Cream Man is what ties the issues together; a slightly creepy dairy deliverer who narrates the story and knows more than a human should. The story screams of an early Stephen King short story or maybe a stranger X-Files episode.
This issue revolves around a boy and his pet Brazilian Wandering Spider. It also involves two detectives investigating a missing persons case and listening to the crazy locals complain about monsters devouring their cats. And of course, the Ice Cream Man delivers ice cream to the boys and girls. Lickety Split!
I found this comic to be highly enjoyable. It was a simple mystery, and even if you guess the basics, there are a few details you will not expect. It left me wanting to know more about the Ice Cream Man and this strange little town. This issue did a swell job of letting the reader know this town is not normal and neither is the Ice Cream Man.
The writer, W. Maxwell Prince, spins a lovely yarn. The tale is a classic short story of horror, where not everything is explained, and people are darkly real. Flaws dominate the people’s personalities, but the dialogue is natural, and the narration is interesting, including some painful fun facts.
The artists do a good job of drawing a beautiful town. The people are all realistic but a little ugly, making them all seem a little menacing. The people are drawn well with emotive faces, though the creatures are creepy. The colors are actually quite lovely in some places.
Verdict: Buy. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It felt like a blast from the past to have a good, short mystery. The story was creepy, if not outright horrifying, and I found it very compelling. The writing was pitch perfect, and the artists created a world I want to come back to every month. A Modern E.C. tale.
