DAMNED, CURSED CHILDREN #1: They’re Coming to Get You Barbara…

Some of the best horror movies don’t have gallons of blood splatter, and you may not see the antagonist until halfway through the film and you might only see them a minimal amount. Good horror will always play on the psychological angle and once your mind is working against you, you are no longer in control. Source Point Press’ latest offering Damned, Cursed Children is a psychological thrill ride that will have you locking the doors and barricading the windows while fear consumes you. Horror stories are like recipes. Anyone can cook but not everyone is Gordon Ramsay. What Wong and Stafford have done with Damned, Cursed Children has taken the horror recipe and they’ve added a special ingredient that makes this book a five-star example of what good horror can be. With respect to the creative team and their work, I want to keep this review as spoiler free as possible.

The story kicks off with a brief introduction to unsuspecting adults in various settings going about their day to day lives but that quickly turns to pot when the children turn voracious! Yes, you read that right. Gage Creed can’t hold a candle to these kids. As the story builds and takes shape the adults are thrown into pure survival mode against an enemy that they have no idea what they are. Zombies, vampires, possessed demons, we really don’t know, and it’s presented in such a gory package that instantly hooks the reader. I’m not going to even get into the devilishly clever and abrupt ending that will turn you into a crazed beast craving more!

The creative team of Howard Wong, Josh Stafford (w), and Robin Simon Ng (a) have crafted a chilling mind trip of a horror story that hits like Wes Craven and Stephen King taking turns kicking you in the gut. Wong and Stafford have mastered the art of letting your mind help with scaring the sh*t out of you. They have created a gem that pays respects to the cult horror classics but adding their own brand of horror with solid storytelling and zero filler. Howard Wong and Josh Stafford are two names to keep an eye on in the genre. At times, the panels are bereft of dialogue and the spine-chilling art of Robin Simon Ng takes over. Ng’s stellar black and white art is a great vehicle for this story. His haunting visuals come through with astonishing spookiness that harkens back to the old Tales from the Crypt magazines. Damned, Cursed Children is exceptionally well done, I can’t wait to see where these three take us.