From Alterna Comics comes Snarl, a graphic novel in the “Look, Detective, someone – or something – is killing women in the woods, and the Mayor doesn’t want any half-bakes stories about monsters” genre.
The 43-page book was written by Kelly Bender, pencilled and inked by Nathan Kelly, coloured by Josh Jensen and lettered by Micah Meyers. The synopsis draws a familiar shape:
Something sinister is killing people in a Washington State Park. Is it animal? Is it Supernatural? When all the evidence points to the unexplained a veteran detective will have to go against all of his training to solve the unsolvable before it’s too late!
Having seen this exact same outline before, I’m gonna say “no”, “yes”, and “don’t worry, he will, despite an unexpected twist in act three”. But hold up! In spite of my shitty attitude about what seems to be an overused plot, I really enjoyed the preview (which you can read below).
Sure, it’s clichéd, right down to the incredulous bureaucrats and interchangeable young white female victims, but I think that’s the point. Detectives Bevil and Sagun don’t care that they might be the protagonists of a hard–boiled police pulp story! They’re gonna crack this case, no matter what the Mayor thinks!
Snarl is available for purchase via Amazon, comiXology, and comic shops that carry Alterna Comics titles. I bought it and I look forward to discovering in the third act that Sagun herself is the werewolf. I have no idea if that’s actually what happens, but it’s gotta be her or the Mayor.
