Writer: Joe Hill
Artist: Leomacs
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Deron Bennett
Reviewer: Tony Farina
Summary
Meet Liam and June. 1983 in Brody Island, Maine. They have some “adult” time in a police car on a bridge. Meanwhile, in some other time, on the same bridge, there is a person with a rain coat and a Basketfull of Heads. Seriously. The heads talk to each other and everything. We learn that the bridge is going to be the central focus of this book because Liam actually found a body that had been tossed off the bridge some time during the summer of 1983.
It also turns out there are some bad dudes on the loose on the island and the police force, now minus Liam due to him being underage, are on the hunt. So, Liam and June actually go to the Chief’s house where they have dinner, and speak in innuendo. Eventually, a storm rolls in and so do the baddies. Basketfull of Heads is kind of crazy.
Positives
Joe Hill is one hell of a story teller. It is literally in his blood. If you don’t get that, you should conduct a search for Joe Hill’s dad. Basketfull of Heads does a lot of work without having to do all the work. There is so much exposition in just a few lines. The dialog crackles and even the stereotypical characters feel two dimensional.
Leomacs does a lot of the heavy lifting in this first issue as much of the storytelling happens on the faces of the characters. There is a simple scene in a war with June and Liam and in just a few panels, Leomacs tells a long story that stretches back to even before the beginning of this particular summer. You can see it below. The top panel is so revealing. Yes, the snappy dialog comes in, but do you need it? I submit you do not. The story unfolds will perfect art.
Negatives
There is a Basketfull of Heads on the first page, but there is no other mention of the heads nor the basket. I hope this is not false advertisement trying to keep us interested.
Verdict
What an excellent starter of a series and the Hill House universe. The last page is so amazing. I am all keyed up and ready for issue two. The tension is real. The situation, while obviously insane, feels grounded in reality. Stories about baskets of talking heads will not work if all the characters are some kind of two dimensional cut outs. That is not the case here. I would say, get a basket and fill it with issue of this comic (not heads).
