Packs of the Lowcountry (OGN)
Written by: John Dudley
Art by: Don Cardenas
I had the pleasure of reading a brand new graphic novel called Packs of Lowcountry written by John Dudley. It is a horror-themed story centered on a soldier who runs into a group of survivors of the current world that is overrun by monsters. No one is sure where the invaders have come from, all that matters is being able to survive the madness. Our main character Bastion is someone who has been trained to be one of the best trackers and is sent out to find a group of survivors and ventures out to a gated community of people that live in a region of the country now known as the Low Country. It is said to be the most infested area by the invaders, which are dubbed “wolves”.
The book bleeds with the inspiration of horror-themed stories and films alike. To me personally, I get a nice vibe of some old school style ala the Universal monsters
The art is a style we have seen used in horror-themed books before, but it’s a perfect style that always seems to work for these. Comics and graphic novels are only as complete as the art that compliments the writing and tone. Packs of the Lowcountry doesn’t waste a lot of time and immediately throws you into the world and what everyone is dealing with. We get a quick glimpse of the catastrophe that has happened to the world but are then quickly sent to our main character as he sets off on his mission. As he progresses, he begins to learn new things about the world he is living in and even perhaps gets to find out where all these invaders have come from. We also get a nice bit of action, and what is a horror comic without just a little bit of blood?
Seeing how our eventual group of characters has to fend for themselves against the “wolves,” you understand even with the weapons at hand, winning is not something they can do easily. They however also have a few surprises of their own that show us why they are still alive. Our main antagonist is eventually introduced with a strange power and that he is no one to be fooled around with. There is a lot of mystery behind him and we eventually learn more about how he came into this power along with many other questions that get answered. The end of the book throws us into an all-out brawl. Seeing everyone really working together is exciting and fun and you really feel like you earn this moment. A Great payoff is something we always want and this book certainly delivers its closure.
Packs of the Lowcountry is a horror adventure book that offers a nice amount of action only when it is needed. If your a fan of the genre it is definitely worth checking out. Not a perfect book with small hiccups in the writing and pacing, but nond the less enjoyable. With a group of fun characters that are trying to find a way to make the world better, I think many will find themselves getting lost in the Low Country.