El Sueño, Texas was a single street town withering under the shadow of the Mexico—U.S. Barrier. Then the pavement split, and a massive crack spread from one end to the other, rapidly swallowing El Sueño whole. Young couple Avery Lee Olmos and Hark Wright fight to escape the mysterious sinkhole and the malevolent force that beckons from its depths.
Title: Fissure | Written by: Tim Daniel | Illustrated by: Patricio Delpeche | Lettered by: Deron Bennett | Format: Graphic Novel | Publisher: Vault Comics | Pub. Date: 15 – February – 2017 | Pages: 112 | ISBN13: 9781939424174 | Genre: Horror | Language: English | Triggers: None | Rating: 4 out of 5 | Source: Received from Edelweiss for review consideration
Fissure Review
I was tempted into picking up this book because of the cover art. Anything that looks like it involves tentacles (spectral or otherwise) is going make me pay attention. I’m easy that way. I’m happy to report that Fissure was a great reading experience that had the plus of being tentacly. It is a good story with artwork that set the mood perfectly. I was caught up in the story almost immediately. It’s hard not to be drawn into the rather timeless drama of people being in love and the families not being happy about it.
The pace is nice and quick (maybe a little too much). The dialogue is perfect. The artwork is suitably creepy when it needs to be, but the artist (Patricio Delpeche) is also also great at communicating emotion too.
My only real complaint is that it felt like it could have been fleshed out just a little more. I would be really curious to see the story continue maybe from the outsider’s point of view? The way things were mentioned at the end makes me think there has to be more!
Of note: A portion of this story is in Spanish. I loved this because it feels rare to come across a bilingual book or graphic novel. It’s good practice if you’re learning. Most of it you can figure out just by what is happening in the scene, but you may want to have a Spanish dictionary on hand for the best experience. Tim Daniel taught me a new curse word that applies to several people I know.
Overall, Fissure is a good read that felt just a little lacking. I zoomed through it and loved every second of it.
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Lilyn G is the founder of Sci-Fi & Scary, and leader of the Coolthulhu Crew. She does book and film reviews for both genres the site focuses on. Her tastes run towards creature features, hard science fiction, and lots and lots of action. She also has a soft spot for middle-grade fiction that rears its head frequently.
She is also the co-founder of Ladies of Horror Fiction.
Feel free to chat her up on Twitter as long as you aren’t hitting her up to review your book.
I read a book with a similar story line. I enjoyed it and might give this a try. My son might like this one too.