Hector Plasm: Hunt the Bigfoot #1 // Review
Hector sees a door with a whole bunch of sigils written on it. Some of them even look authentic. There’s a warning on the door: “Don’t Open. Witch Inside.” And Hector decides to ignore the warning and kick the door-in. Naturally, a supernatural witch shoots out of the door and into the air before disappearing altogether. Honestly...Hector didn’t know what he was expecting, but the witch’s escape isn’t exactly a huge surprise in Hector Plasm: Hunt the Bigfoot #1. Writer Benito Cereno and artist Derek Hunter start an adventure for the action horror series with colorist Spencer Holt.
Hector has come to a small town to try to deal with a homicidal ghost that keeps killing people. That’s not relly a serious issue. Honestly...the witch was only part of that. There’s someone there in the town who wnats to help him with a small matter of a Sasquatch. There’s some evidence to suggest that the small town in question is a hub of Bigfoot activity. Hector has seen a lot in his life given the nature of his existence, but he hasn’t seen anything to suggest to him that there is anything like a Sasquatch running around anywhere...
Cereno tells an enjoyable story. Hector comes a cross as a very distinctive person with a very distinctive personality that solidly avoids a lot of cliche. Cereno has a bit of fun with the contrast between traditional occultism and cryptid hunters. It’s a fun contrast that makes the mystery of the situation that much more interesting. Cereno’s wit illuminates the script as Cereno enters some teritory that could get pretty dark pretty quickly. It’s a sharp narrative package that feels well-articulated from cover to cover. It’s a solid start for Cereno’s latest journey with Hector. It’s a fun time.
Hunter’s art lends the story a darkness that feels reasonably cuddly as the cartoonishness of the art lends the story some visual whimsy. As thick as the script is with dialogue-based backstory, the art needs to have a solid hook to it to keep everything moving with visual appeal. Hunter’s art has a jaunty bouncy personality that drives the central appeal of the story. It’s going to be interestin to see the way that everything moves once the Bigfoot makes a stronger appearance in the series as the story progresses. There’s real potential for an interesting visual perspective of the Sasquatch as things progress.
At only three isssues in length, the series is going to be over very, very quickly. Cereno has a great deal of energy with brisk pacing that suggests a great many different directions in the final 2/3 of the series. It’s going to be interesting to see how everything moves for Hector. He’s going to be drawn-into contact with the Bigfoot. Cereno has kept everything ambiguus enough at the end of the irst issue that it c ould clearly be going in ay direction at allby the end of the third issue.
