The Eyrie

The Eyrie is the latest graphic novel release from Thom Burgess and having already been impressed by his Malevolents title, I was keen to see how this one would fair.

It tells the story of American photographer Rebecca’s latest assignment as we open with her explaining to her boss Adrian what’s been happening with her and we’re soon whisked into a flash back as her travels have taken her from her home in New York to a remote village on the coast of England.  It all seems innocent enough but the gloom seems to close in on her and it gives this a sinister edge that creeps up on you.

Rebecca tries her best to get on with her job but the unfamiliar surroundings and the odd cast of locals seem reluctant to accept the stranger in their midst.  As that develops we begin to get a bit of a history lesson for the area and there’s much more lurking in the dark than even Rebecca realises.  The fact that we get the merest glimpse of whats in the shadows here and there keeps things unnerving and as Thom weaves that plot the art from Barney Bodoano equals that vibe with a dark, Gothic style.

The combo of story & art gives us that classic horror trait of being edge-of-the-seat scary but impossible to turn away from and the story lingers long after you’ve found out the outcome.  Capturing that feeling on film is hard enough with the full range of sense stimulation but to capture it in a graphic novel not once, but twice, shows just how good Thom really is.  His ability to team-up with just the right artist adds another dimension to his titles and it feels like he’s really starting to progress from one title to the next……..so I’m holding out to see what the next book he releases will bring.  There’s the added bonus of a foreword by The League of Gentlemen‘s Reece Shearsmith who echo’s the same unsettling vibe found in the book and highlights the common response we all have to something as horrifyingly good as this.

Go check out the titles Facebook page for more info and get your hands on a copy over on the online store ASAP!!

9/10

G-Man