Survivors' Club
Lauren Beukes & Dale Halverson, writers; Ryan Kelly, artist; Eva de la Cruz, colorist
Vertigo Comics, 2016
Bad things happened to a lot of children in 1987. Out of a long list of names found on the Internet, only six are not missing or dead: the Survivors' Club. All living in Los Angeles and somehow connected, called together for a meeting almost 30 years later. Their experiences mirror 1980s American and Asian horror movies: one with a killer doll, another possessed by a poltergeist, another trapped in a haunted house.
There is a video game with a strong connection to one of them, but they all feel something. It turns out to be extremely significant to their mutual connection, and so is everything else! The search for a common connection quickly multiplies into a whole network of connections. Resolve one problem, and another one pops up. It's a kind of cascade, as well as a good old-fashioned multiple climax.
It all makes for an exciting story, but one so convoluted that it can be hard to follow. It also requires massive amounts of suspension of disbelief, although familiarity with the horror films referenced contributes. Veteran artist Ryan Kelly (Books of Magic, Lucifer, Local, Northlanders) really helps to sell it. At nine issues this is one of the longer Vertigo miniseries of the latter era. It manages to maintain interest despite all of the twists and turns, and certainly earns points for its creative synthesis of horror tropes.
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