A mysterious and bloodthirsty matriarchal force runs the town of Redlands, Florida, and in order to stay on top sacrifices must be made. Someone is intent on removing these women from the top of the food chain, and he’s ready to unleash their darkest secret but has seriously underestimated the lengths the townspeople will go to protect the new order of things.
Title: Redlands, Vol 1 (1-6) | Writer and Colorist: Jordie Bellaire | Artist: Vanesa del Rey | Letter: Clayton Cowles | Pub. Date: 2018-April-17 | Pages: 144 | ISBN13: 9781534305007 | Genre: Horror | Language: English | Content Warnings: See below review | Source: Purchased | Starred: No
Redlands, Vol 1 Review
This is a weird review to write. There are so many important things about Redlands that I did not care for. Namely, the coloring in the first quarter and almost all of the illustrations. However, somehow, I still found myself mostly enjoying the read and was able to push through and read it in a single sitting.
I came by Redlands via a request at the local comic book shop for the clerk to turn me on to something with a good story, put together by people who weren’t straight white men. While I don’t hold the clerk’s super positive opinion about the volume, I’m still grateful that she introduced to me to it. I appreciated the representation I found within, and there were a few scenes that had me outright cackling. (Dick-eating chihuahua, anyone?)
Redlands is a book that deals with some basic problems we shouldn’t be still wrestling with, but still are, and it feels very fitting for the *gestures widely* you know. Everything of 2020. Nothing was hinted at so much as shoved right in the reader’s face. Sometimes that can get old and annoying, but for this book, it worked quite well.
There are no real good guys/gals in Redlands, at least as garnered by my initial reading, but the trio of main characters have enough good to them that you can’t hate them. There is a lot of action, some of which is supernatural, some outright murderdeathkill-y. The story is a good one. The pacing is decent. I think for the right reader, this series would be seriously binge-worthy, unfortunately I was just not the right reader.
If you’re looking for a horror graphic novel from diverse creators, you need to give it a look.
You can buy this book from a variety of links via its Goodreads page; however, in the interest of supporting literacy programs, we recommend trying to purchase it through Better World Books if it is available there.
Content Warnings:
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.
Though no longer involved with Ladies of Horror Fiction due to other responsibilities and a too-full plate, she was one of the original 4 co-founders.
Feel free to chat her up on Twitter as long as you aren’t hitting her up to review your book.