Day Of The Dead Girl #1
Chad Burdette
Recap
Death is never the end of the story. Coroner Sam Castillo will learn this the hard way, when a supernatural serial killer targets her hometown just as she moves back.
A skeptical woman of science, Sam butts heads with her spiritual mother Ana, a leader of a witch coven specializing in Brujeria.
But when the coven’s Brujas start turning up murdered, Sam and Ana must work together to find the killer and save their town’s Day of the Dead festival from turning into an occult bloodbath.
As if sharing a bathroom with her mom wasn’t hard enough.
Review
Day Of The Dead Girl is a new series from Magma Comix that blends an X-Files and The Craft vibe with mature takes on themes found in movies such as Coco or Encanto.
The protagonist is Sam Castillo, a medical examiner who moves back home to help her mother, who is the leader of a Witches coven. From the first page the tension between the two is palpable and feels authentic, as Sam is a person of science and reason and her mother believes deeply in the power of the spiritual world.
The atmosphere of the Day Of The Dead celebration that is currently taking place is set early on and is explained by both Sam and her mother, showing the varying views that exist about the day. It is in these panels that Sam’s dry and no-nonsense attitude is put in display as she provides a modicum of humor that reveals that she is not exactly thrilled to be back home, especially after leaving her dream job among other things to move back in with her mom.
This inaugural issue also does a good job of setting up the mystery and the likely antagonist, whose identity is not revealed as his face is shown shadowed by his hood on the sweatshirt.
The art and colorwork work well together with the scenes of the festival bringing it to life and make it jump off the page and then tones it way down for the darker and more ominous parts of the story. Likewise, the times when Sam and her mom are home, it’s a nice balance of lites and darker tones, and not overly heavy either way.
The character specs remain mostly consistent with the occasional odd looking panel, but it doesn’t distract from the overall story.
Final Thoughts
Day Of The Dead Girl #1 is a strong start to this series that is full of mystery, the supernatural, and more. The issue is well paced and does a good job of introducing the characters, showing the mother-daughter relationship dynamic, and setting up a murder mystery with possible supernatural elements.
The issue also is a great example of the quality storytelling and world building that makes Magma Comix unique and fun reads.
Day Of The Dead Girl #1
- Writing - 9/109/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 9/109/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10
