Under the Net with Jake Estrada
A Mother’s Love
Welcome to the ninth edition of Under the Net.
I will be rating the elements of the book on a scale of one through five.
One is poor, two is mediocre, three is fair, four is good, and five is excellent.
Hey guys it is your trusty friend Jake at it again. This weeks review is called A Mother’s Love/. The story is written by Sam Costello and drawn by David Hitchcock. The site this book resides is called Split Lip which is a series of anthology stories in the vein of the Twilight Zone or the Night Gallery. All stories are written by Sam Costello, and I could go through them all. Yet I choose A Mother’s Love today.
The Art
I must say that the art from David Hitchcock is very beautiful I love how it had the apprearance as if it was only penciled this story and it wasn’t inked. It had a great vibe to it, it drew the story to that late Victorian period, and it only made the horror so much more surreal and visually stunning. The way the art was drawn made me feel like I was reading the story under candlelight. The story was in black and white, but the sketchiness of it was quick and the story flowered very well. The panels were done nicely and there were many pages that had no dialogue and it kept the suspense high. Mr. Hitchcock is a great artist and I look forward in seeing his artwork in other comics in the near future.
ART: 5 STARS
The Writing
The writing was just as good for this great 16 page story. The story starts in this Puritan period where a woman becomes pregnant with her child in her 40’s and as she is about to give birth something goes horribly wrong. The tale is told by a gentlemen at the gathering, and we learn in the story that the birth took place a hundred years prior. The subtle nature of the story is ever present because at first you think it is a typical story of life entering this world, but we quickly learn the reality of this story as the birth is a horrifying entrance to this morbid world of ours, as the creature known as the Hobbyhorse enters in extreme gory fashion. Mr. Costello knows how to move a story forward, has a perfect sense of suspense and knows how to give us the right amount of gore to keep readers enticed. Plus at the very last second of this monsterous creature you also get a sense of sadness at the very last page. He surely knows how to convey many emotions on his page and knows how to bring the horror home full circle. The story was tremendous and breathtaking in all its madness.
WRITING: 5 STARS
Originality
A Mother’s Love is a very original idea. I love the fact that the story takes place in a time long but forgotten in the pathos of time, and we have it drawn in this old school style where it makes you feel like you are seeing it through a old book being read by a fireplace. Sam Costello knows how to weave a great tale of suspense and merged with the art it only makes it so much better. The sweetness of each page comes flying off the page and it flies towards your face as you attempt to race to the very end to see how this all plays out. I know I was engaged in this story and it is a great tale. I love how the story was told, but the creature in itself was original and horrfying in the highest order as well.
The stark pages, the lush lettering brought the entire package together and it is a splendid joy to read.
I loved how we are given this tale of the creature, then it is pushed off being a old wives tale, and how the one guy running the conference ends up having the creature within his body. I like how the tale was twisted on its head and how it took out the other would be mother.
ORIGINALITY: 5 STARS.
Grand Total: 5 Stars
The Pros
The art, the writing and its pace were top notch.
The Cons
My only thing here and it made me wonder was how long had the Hobbyhorse been inside Mr. Mudd? Plus how many vicitims did the monster ultimately take out over the years? I guess we will never know.
My Final Word
If you like the Twilight Zone meets the Outer Limits, then you will love this great site with various webcomics.
Check out the hard work of Sam Costello and co at:
Enjoy folks!
Jake Estrada
Email me at estradajake@yahoo.com for website suggestions. Thanks.
Jake Estrada is a published author who holds degrees in Multimedia Design and Criminal Justice. He is a father to three wonderful children and married to his beautiful wife, Beth. You can find his comics at http://graphicly.com/estrada-mediaand other fine online stores.
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