This week’s Wednesday Comics Reviews bends the knee to Regicide #1, celebrates a fantastic Hello Kitty comic, checks in on Ignition Press’ latest, and much more! Plus, FOC Watch and the Prog Report!
Cult-de-Sac #1
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Fico Ossio
Colors: Ulises Arreola
Letters: AndWorld Design
Publisher: Ignition Press
Review by Clyde Hall
If you’ve ever heard real life accounts of homeowners battling overreaching and inflexible HOA rules, imagining it as the basis for a horror story may not be much of a stretch. That’s what fuels the first issue of Cul-de-Sac, and writer Cullen Bunn taps into it like a vampiric Red Cross worker setting up a sanguine savings account at the local blood bank.
Which is to say, he goes pretty much where the foreshadowing and Ignition Press obligatory Cold Open issue from SDCC last month directed. Willow Park subdivision is a place where ‘Togetherness” Means Something according to their entryway sign. In the Cold Open preview, we’re treated to watching a family make a hasty retreat from that same bit of real estate. Given their panicked flight, one comparable with the Freeling family’s retreat at the end of Poltergeist, they’d had about all the “togetherness” they could take. From the parade of vermin overrunning their home and eerie noises wafting down from upstairs, we don’t blame them.
In the 5-issue limited series’ premiere this week, we get the other end of a moving day spectrum with the arrival of the Hanson family consisting of Martin, Claire, their teenaged daughter Liv, and youngest child Owen. A different family than the one in the preview, happy to be arriving in a new home with a new job and a relocation bonus helping them afford movers instead of doing the heavy lifting themselves with friends pitching in.
They meet up with next door neighbors Gary & Monique, quickly followed by HOA president Harold Weems. Weems is a taciturn man, one who immediately begins finding pointed fault with the Hanson grass height and recreational vehicle, and also making pointed personal inquiries. Neighbor kids watch Liv and Owen but when approached simply walk away silently. There are passing mentions of other homes, other places, and less lucrative job choices the Hansons have endured…hinting at anchor reasons to remain in Willow Park and put up with some HOA overreach simply to avoid any perceived success regression.
Neighbors Gary and Monique seem friendly enough, though they’ve witnessed things which hasten them to encourage compliance with the HOA just to make life simpler. Another neighbor, Francine Miller, eventually comes bearing a welcoming apple pie along with a more slavishly obedient attitude on being part of the community.
With all this and more in place, it’s not a great stretch imagining the final gotcha panels for this horror story opener. But I wish Bunn had stretched a bit more for something less expected and with a devilishly horrific jolt. If you imagine an HOA horror tale could almost write itself, this one does. But not in the most satisfying way that it might.
Cullen Bunn’s horror stories often have promising, sometimes excellent concepts. And nearly as often, they’ve left me feeling he could have done just a little more with them, delved just a little deeper to hit the oaken casket lid with a foreboding, echoing impact that builds suspense for what’s about to get exhumed.
In this narrative, the concept is once again first rate. It just feels wearily done. Maybe that’s intentional. Living under nightmarish HOA interference would wear anyone down. But it’s too early for such fatigue visiting the Hansons already. And the characters are ash can thumbnail flat. Except for Weems, who’s sketched stoic and rude as a path to over-the-top villainy.
Which points to a bigger problem, perhaps: How telegraphed and obvious the nature of this story is from its beginning. Any subdivision wishing to keep its predatorial nature concealed until the closing and all paperwork signed isn’t going to hang a sign making finger quotes as a meaningful red flag for prospective new residents, i.e., the Willow Park’s, ‘‘Togetherness” Means Something’ credo spelled out.
A possible beneficial byproduct of this title might come from Weems repeatedly instructing the Hansons to read their covenant contract and abide by it. Maybe that will have a positive effect in real life for anyone reading the title. It came off as strange to me that some of Weems’ complaints about covenant violations came as surprises to the Hansons. They have a bound copy of that covenant, sitting on an end table. Surely, they read it before signing papers, right? Surely, they would read it after the first couple mentions of violations sprang up unexpectedly, right? Well, apparently, about 99% of homebuyers don’t read the HOA stipulations before signing off on them. Thus, Cul-de-Sac may serve as a cautionary tale, like the best horror stories usually are.
Fico Ossio art is the highlight of this book and the colors by Ulises Arreola help make it so. Ossio explores panels with an angle variety which astounds, which takes chances, and which works more often than not. That last page surge to a climactic finish isn’t very surprising. But its content and the horrific imagining of it, that’s macabrely excellent.
Cul-de-Sac is a first issue read which might feed horror fan Halloween needs, a summer candy corn or peanut butter kiss preview of scarier, tastier stuff to come in the months following August. Get it if you crave lightweight, ghostly lows to wade in before the tidal wave of October spooky/spoopy goodness crests.
Regicide #1
Writer: Patrick Kindlon
Artist: Ludovic Lalliat
Publisher: Image Comics
Review by Gianni Palumbo
Regicide piqued my interest when I first saw it being advertised in Image Comics’ solicitations a few months back. I’m unfamiliar with both Patrick Kindlon and Ludovic Laliat but, man, that cover got me. So, how was the comic itself? Pretty good! It’s a solid first issue that definitely has me interested enough to keep reading.
The story setup isn’t anything new, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing because it’s done well. Basically, a simple farmhand named Mihas is called upon by the village elders to journey across the land to the capital alongside a dangerous masked stranger (who shares a striking resemblance to one Victor Von Doom) to assassinate the one who sits on the throne, Basarab.
Lalliat’s art is for sure the MVP here. It’s striking and unique, especially in the world of Direct Market Comics. It doesn’t necessarily look or feel like a comic published by Image, instead having such an underground, homemade quality to it in the absolute best ways possible.
Regicide has a rough, sketchy quality that enhances the dark fantasy aesthetic. I love the landscapes and different locations and the creature designs we see are so gnarly. I just absolutely adore it! The action sequences are incredibly dynamic too. You can feel every quick movement and moment of impact and it flows panel by panel with such fluidity. I am officially signing up for whatever Ludovic Lalliat does going forward.
Alongside the main story, this first issue has two back up shorts that are here to further establish some world building. They’re both penned by Kindlon, with the first drawn by Pramono Estu and the second by Matt Battaglia. Though both artists are incredibly talented, I do have to admit I missed Lalliat’s art here. I do appreciate these back ups though as it makes this world feel much more massive and lived in.
Overall, I think this is a really promising first issue and I’m definitely interested in checking out at least one more issue. Lalliat, though, you have a new big fan.
The Foundry #1
Writers: Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson
Artist: Christopher Mitten
Colorist: Michelle Madsen
Letterer: Clem Robins
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Review by Khalid Johnson
The Foundry brings another entry to the world of Hellboy written by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson. Coming out of the era of the British Empire, The Foundry is a surprisingly diverse group of people across different fields dedicated to tapping into ancient technologies for modern use.
I say “surprisingly” because of the way it seems The Foundry is loyal to Britain despite colonial interests. I see the lens of empire here and think “certainly no colonial power is pursuing this kind of research for beneficial or benevolent means.” I guess we’ll have to find out as the series continues.
Through the art of Christopher Mitten with colors by Michelle Madsen, we meet members of the Foundry, guided by the narration and experience of Major Karam Singh with letters Clem Robins. This issue looks good and easily sucks you into the world and with a lot of subtlety in character expressions and these really sweeping and imposing environments.
This issue, the first of four, lays some significant groundwork in letting us meet the crew through Singh’s eyes while getting some of his own backstory. Through these initial explorations of characters and the world, a lot is set up before things hit the fan as the Foundry investigates a supernatural mystery of ship disappearances.
FOC Watch
This title is currently eligible for pre-order.
That Texas Blood: Hell Comes to Allison Ranch #1
Writer: Chris Condon
Artist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: September 23, 2026
Review by Zack Quaintance
I was just bemoaning with a friend that with a few exceptions, the long-running indie comic title has largely faded away. You’ve got holdovers from a past era, like Saga, as well as the expansive, world-building Tiny Onion books (Something Is Killing the Children, or Department of Truth, etc.), but there aren’t many creator-owned or original idea comics that hit double digit issues anymore, let alone make it to a half dozen trades. In fact, one of my favorites, Minor Arcana, recently announced it would conclude with #24.
Thankfully, another one of my favorites, That Texas Blood, is returning after a four-year hiatus with a new six-issue story arc, bucking that trend, and I’m right away reminded at the start of this new issue why I like comics to extend out into long runs. This issue opens with the book’s by-now-familiar main character, Sheriff Joe Bob Coates, at home in 2003, watching the news that the United States has begun a war with Iraq.
While it works well enough on its own, giving enough exposition to feel new-reader friendly, this first issue excels at bringing back its world and characters for its long-time readers. We already know who the main figures are and what they believe, having been through a number of story arcs with them, and now this new series opens with them at a major point in recent U.S. history. And it’s also one that is freshly relevant, with the country currently engaged in war with another Middle Eastern nation, all of which feels eerily (and tragically) similar to what happened two decades ago.
But of course, this is writer Chris Condon and artist Jacob Phillips’ world of That Texas Blood, set in a fictional Texas county. So, it’s not going to tell a story that directly shows us the war in Iraq or takes a character overseas. Instead, this series is much more interested in allegory, giving us the start of a feud on a giant and wealthy Texas ranch, one that is well set-up here to explode into its own localized war. It’s a great, timely premise, and I’m very excited to see where this arc is headed.
It’s also a clever way to get this new story rolling and speak directly to the issues of the day. Of course, I could go on here as well about how great Phillips art, colors, and letters look, and how well Condon writes this world and the twangy, clipped dialogue of these characters. But if you’re a That Texas Blood old head like me, you already know all that, you know what makes this one of the 2020s best indie comics, and you’re just glad it’s coming back, stronger than ever.
Rapid Reviews
Did you all realize there’s a new Godzilla Monsterpiece Theatre comic out this week? Well, there is. It’s called Roar of the Worlds, and like past entries in this series, it slams Godzilla together with a classic novel (or play), this one naturally being War of the Worlds. This one is by Kyle Baker, and I’m a huge fan, so in my book, that alone makes it worth picking up. But just generally, I find this series to be an irreverant good time. And while I feel hacky for saying this, this is the type of book that really plays to the strengths of comics as a medium, specifically the ability to get silly without the whole thing falling apart. —Zack Quaintance
I’ve found Doug Wagner to be a reliably-interesting writer of original comics for a while now, and he’s got a new book out this week, Yumi 00-Ex (I think I got that right, it’s a chaotic logo), which sees him teaming with artist Hoyt Silva, colored here by Kevin Lennertz and lettered by Frank Cvetkovic. It’s an interesting take on sort of spy thriller/secret agent deconstruction, and it also has romance manga-esque sequences, punctuated with massive aesthetic shifts in the art that really serve the book and its ideas. It was a playful good time, and I’m excited for more of it. —Zack Quaintance
The Prog Report
2000AD #2493 (Rebellion): This week’s sees the finale for Anderson – Psi Division: The Void by writer Liam Johnson, artist Rob Richardson, and letterer Rob Steen. This was a nice little six-part story, with as-of-yet-revealed implications for the main Judge Dredd story, The Oubliette, but I feel like it’s tough to evaluate on its own merits, without full knowledge of where all that is headed. Still hoping we get moving toward the end of that one soon. Meanwhile, next week — barring some big surprise — I will be back here to write about Nightmare New York. This week’s cover (above) is by Anthony Williams. As always, you can pick up a digital copy of The Prog here. And it is also now available weekly in US comic shops! —Zack Quaintance
Column edited by Zack Quaintance
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