This week’s Wednesday Comics Reviews hones in on the messiness of The Dirt Beneath the Devil #1! Plus, FOC Watch and the Prog Report!
The Dirt Beneath the Devil #1
The Dirt Beneath the Devil #1Writer: Dan Panosian
Artist: David Ferracci
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Review by Samantha Puc
June Buckley never knew her father, a monster of a man who loved two things in life: “mystery and the ladies.” But when he dies and she’s named in the will, June leaves the city she’s known her entire life to join a group of other heirs on a treacherous, horseback journey through the desert to fulfill the terms of her father’s wishes so she might learn what he’s left her.
In the interim, she’s tasked with Hendido, a massive horse with cloven hooves whose only other rider was her late father. No one on the exhibition trusts or wants to be near Hendido, who only calms his rampaging for June. As the trip continues, Hendido’s behavior may reveal something deeper, darker, and more horrifying about both his truth and June’s father’s.
The Dirt Beneath the Devil #1 quickly introduces an ensemble cast with complex dynamics, then gets the show on the road—both literally and figuratively. June and Hendido are absolutely the central focus here, so the lack of knowledge about other characters makes sense, even if it does make certain moments in the narrative fall flat.
Still, there’s much to love about this debut issue, and the cliffhanger ending is hard to resist.
Dan Panosian’s dialogue is a strength, giving characters distinct voices even when their name and relationship to the deceased are hard to recall. The opening ensemble scene feels a bit like Knives Out: Sharp, back-and-forth dialogue that cuts as the characters grumble about the delay (in their minds) of the reading of the will, as well as the number of heirs with whom they have to share their slice of the pie.
Artist David Ferraci captures the Western look beautifully with thick, black lines and kinetic character gathering. Up-cloase panels showcasing characters’ emotions bring the stakes to life and instill a sense of curiosity, especially when June and Hendido seemingly soul-bound through prolonged eye contact.
Colorist Lee Loughridge balances light and shadow so beautifully, which really emphasizes the Western vibe of The Dirt Beneath the Devil. In particular, June’s red hair and Hendido’s black coat not only suit them as individual characters, but aren’t so poorly rendered that they seem fantastical compared to everyone else.
Last but not least, letterer Patrick Brosseau nails every single page, including text-heavy ones where the narrative or dialogue could easily overwhelm the art, but never do. Brosseau’s use of multicolored backgrounds differentiates between June’s inner monologue and actual dialogue, which is especially helpful for following the story.
All told, The Dirt Beneath the Devil starts to build momentum toward something lurking in the shadows in its debut issue, but details beyond that are scarce. The characters are on an inherently difficult journey together for a number of reasons—grief, anger, preemptive elation/disappointment—and this alone is intriguing enough to keep reading.
FOC Watch
This title is currently eligible for pre-order.
The Forever Home #1
The Forever Home #1Writer: Christian Ward
Artist: Sami Kivela
Colorist: Jason Wordie
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Oni Press
Due Out: Sept. 9, 2026
Review by Zack Quaintance
Being stuck inside has made for some great horror stories over the years. Horror master Stephen King has certainly done scary stuff with the concept, from The Shining to Misery. And that concept of horrifying cabin fever has also made for great scary comics, maybe the most notable of which is DC Comics/Vertigo’s Nice House on the Lake series, now in its second season.
And cabin fever is also the core horror concept in The Forever Home, scripted by Christian Ward, with art by Sami Kivela, colors by Jason Wordie, and letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. But whereas (most) of those aforementioned stories are grounded in more traditional horror trappings, The Forever Home combines the cabin fever genre with what one might call ecological-horror sci-fi.
Indeed, this is a book whose high concept combines our real world ongoing environmental crisis with the cabin fever, closed environment concept, and then supercharges it by adding a layer of accelerated time. Briefly, this is a story of a family in a very advanced house at the end of the world. The outdoors are dangerous and ruined, but the house gives them all that they need — and for every 20 minutes that pass in the house, a full year passes outside.
I really like this take on both ecological horror and on the cabin fever concept, all the more so because the creative team behind it is excellent. Kivela’s work is always interesting, particularly the spooky 1970s detective comics, Abbott, and Wordie is a colorist who I am always happy to see on the credits page, a colorist who is very much unafraid to take risks.
This book sees Kivela doing great work illustrating the interior of the house (absolutely vital for this type of story) in a way that makes it familiar, yet also futuristic. There’s something striking about the setting as Kivela draws it, from the post-modern, art-laden living/dining room, to the intricate design of the much larger spaces beneath. And Wordie does a great job coloring the outside in over-the-top shades, while keeping the inside more grounded. It’s all augmented of course by the lettering of Otsmane-Elhaou, which was just recognized with an Eisner Award last week.
Ward’s script here is also fantastic, with an intriguing opening, a nice twist in the middle, and a killer cliffhanger at the end. The Forever Home for all its grandiose cabin fever/futuristic sci-fi interests centers itself around small moments and a family, around the relatable, and it’s all the better for it.
It all adds up to a really well-done and intriguing first issue that I highly recommend.
The Prog Report
2000AD #2491: I was thinking about this this week, and if you’re new to 2000AD, you might be forgiven for being perplexed by Brink, an intricate sci-fi procedural comic that’s kind of unfolding right now in the middle of a Judge Dredd gothic horror take that’s unfolding in most of the other strips. Brink — which is one of the best sci-fi comics in recent years, period — is a comic that rewards patient, committed readers. It’s by the creative team of writer Dan Abnett, artist INJ Cublard, and letterer Simon Bowland, and it’s got a long history behind it. While I regular advocate jumping into 2000AD and just going with what’s happening, I think Brink is an exception to that rule, and you need to read the strip in full, ideally the entirety of the story, but at a minimum this current arc, titled The Call of the Void and now on part 20 (!!) this week. But it is absolutely worth it to go all in on this one, because of the big payoffs for doing so. That’s it, that’s my brief meditation on Brink. This week’s cover (above) is by David Roach with colors by Emily Roach. 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
2000AD #2491: I was thinking about this this week, and if you’re new to 2000AD, you might be forgiven for being perplexed by Brink, an intricate sci-fi procedural comic that’s kind of unfolding right now in the middle of a Judge Dredd gothic horror take that’s unfolding in most of the other strips. Brink — which is one of the best sci-fi comics in recent years, period — is a comic that rewards patient, committed readers. It’s by the creative team of writer Dan Abnett, artist INJ Cublard, and letterer Simon Bowland, and it’s got a long history behind it. While I regular advocate jumping into 2000AD and just going with what’s happening, I think Brink is an exception to that rule, and you need to read the strip in full, ideally the entirety of the story, but at a minimum this current arc, titled The Call of the Void and now on part 20 (!!) this week. But it is absolutely worth it to go all in on this one, because of the big payoffs for doing so. That’s it, that’s my brief meditation on Brink. This week’s cover (above) is by David Roach with colors by Emily Roach. As always, you can pick up a digital copy of Column edited by Zack Quaintance
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