Review- RACHEL RISING VOL. 1: THE SHADOW OF DEATH

RACHEL RISING VOL. 1: THE SHADOW OF DEATH (Abstract, 2012; Softcover; Black and White)

Collects Rachel Rising Nos. 1-6 (cover dates August, 2011- March, 2012)

Writer and Artist: Terry Moore

I did something that I haven't done much since the '80s: I read this book the day that I bought it. This just seemed so intriguing that I didn't want it to languish in backlog limbo for a year or so. It's not that I'm a diehard Terry Moore fan. Indeed, his collaboration with the dreadful Humberto Ramos drove me off of Runaways. It's just that the concept sounded so interesting that I knew that I would drive myself nuts wondering what in the heck this was all about, so just read it already! So I did.

Moore's artwork is effective and works for this material. I think that the black and white approach works for this title, as full color comics that have wide open panels like this annoy me for some reason. His writing is severely decompressed and fast moving, as I finished the entire book in under 40 minutes. I wasn't trying to be Speed Reader from The Great Space Coaster or anything, I just plowed through it in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. Rachel Rising is a satisfying read that is worthy of your hard earned money, and is available at finer comic emporiums everywhere.

The gist, with some SPOILERS- Rachel wakes up dead, only she isn't aware that she's dead. Everyone that she knows believes that she's dead and that they are seeing things. Her medical examiner Aunt finally figures out that her pulse beat is 6 beats per minute, so she is in a state very near death, and medically speaking, shouldn't be alive. There's a little girl with a “guardian angel” who makes her do evil things. This guardian angel makes other people murder folks as well. Including Rachel, who seems to rise from the dead each time she's murdered. There is also a serial killer on the loose, who murdered Rachel in the first place. So yeah, lots going on here, and we are left with more questions than answers. I'm in for Volume 2, which won't be released soon enough!

The OCD zone- This is slightly smaller than a standard sized trade paperback. This is not a slight, just a point of reference for my OCD-suffering brethren out there. The paper is uncoated stock but is smooth to the touch. The covers are not in color (with the exception of Issue 1, which is used on the front cover), which would be a pet peeve if this book were not value priced at below the MSRP for the 6 floppies. I'll let it slide, Moore and Abstract. The covers are included in their proper chapter marker place, minus Issue 1, which is on the cover. The first issue begins immediately after table of contents. Oh, and there is no mention as to what printing this is (it's obviously the first) or where it was printed. I'm sorry, but this is The OCD zone, and the tiniest things send us into a tizzy in this neck of the woods!

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