Can Steve Niles do it again?

I was lured into this solely due to the fact that it had Steve Niles' (30 Days Of Night, Criminal Macabre, The Lurkers etc.) name on it and because the cover artwork was pretty neat. I had never heard of artist Greg Ruth before reading zìs. As I've said before, I'm not all that huge on Dark Horse. Nonetheless, me being the benevolent person that I am (hurr!), thought I'd give the six-issue mini-series, Freaks Of The Heartland a try.

The story is set in Gristlewood Valley, a forgotten old prairie town in Southern U.S.A. From whatever I could gather, it's probably set in the seventies or so (completely useless information). The big city is right over the hill, but the folks at Gristlewood prefer not to acknowledge its existence and tend to themselves (kinda like the Amish!). The opening few pages show us that Trevor Owen is one lonely kid. He has to resort to playing cops and robbers (erm.. or sheriffs and outlaws) by himself even. What kind of a freak does that? Well, not the kind of freak his brother is... Will Owen has been living inside (living, locked... what's the difference?) the barnyard ever since his birth. He isn't exactly normal (but maybe he'd be normal in New York City...I wonder...). In layman's terms, Will Owen is a monster; a freak if you Will. The dad, Henry Owen, is the typical balding, black toothed, raging alcoholic who beats his wife (well, they can't ALL turn out great I suppose). Trevor has the job of feeding Will and taking care of him. Since Will is Trevor's only friend, he unchains him every night to play with him. This happens on a regular basis up until one day when the Father feels that 'things are not proper' and decides to kill the abomination whom he refuses to believe is his son. As he tries to shoot his very own son Will, Trevor, in true mainstream-Hollywood action flick fashion, makes sure that Will is not hurt. At this time, the newly freed Will(y), breathes fire on his father and broils him to death (the single most coolest thing in this comic). This is probably the most eventful thing that happens. After this the story tiresomely plods along like a thick joint rolled with tobacco from a Gudang Garam cigarette and finishes off with a very disappointing and predictable ending (it's like you don't even get high...). If I told you ANY more, I'd probably try and come up with a better storyline, because Freaks doesn't have much of a storyline to tell. Yada yada yada The boy and his freak brother live happily ever after. Spoilt the ending did I? Or did I just save you the hassle of reading the comic? You decide: You mock my review now, but just in case the kvlt reviewer maybe right, you decide to stay away from this and be content. OR. You actually do pick up this comic to see what all the fuss is about and finally wished you would've listened to the kvlt ones in the first place. Either way I don't get my thanks. (:|)

For once Steve Niles disappointed me. The setting was great, he had excellent artwork to back his story, the whole build up was great, the characters were pretty damn cool, but all of it amounted to absolutely nothing. Greg Ruth quite effortlessly manages to depict the setting really well. His art wards off a rustic, unsettling vibe elegantly avoiding an overtly comic 'hillbilly' touch which I've noticed some artists tend to do (Duncan Fegredo, Steve Dillon etc. – which can be good under certain circumstances). Sprawling plains, wooden houses, contorted fences, the lone church, eerie cellars - all done to perfection, to add to the overall theme of horror (in the true sense of the word). He has the same charm that Ben Templesmith has. I really admired his work and will look out for him. I do wish that the comic would’ve gone somewhere solely for the sake of the artwork. If you have some time to spare with next to nothing to do, give Freaks Of The Heartland a go, but take it from me, there are far better comics to waste your time on.