Of The Earth by Chris Condon and Charlie Adlard (Image Comics)

 

Tabitha "Tabby" Black discovers something is seriously wrong with her grandmother when she retreats to her grandmother's Texas home which has recently become the focus of a speculative oil well rig. What the well taps though appears to be something that won't be easy to sell or profit off of. 

Landman meets The Thing in this new eco-horror tale from writer Chris Condon (That Texas Blood, News From the Fallout) and artist Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead). It seems eco-horror is all the rage now and Image Comics is betting on riding the name recognition of the artist of its most famous (and profitable) series ever produced to spark a new franchise. This time though, Of The Earth is slated to be a mini-series. That's mostly irrelevant at this point in the comics industry as there are virtually no ongoing titles anymore (with the exception of Image's own Spawn). Every time there is a new story arc, or change in creative team a comic book is restarted with an issue #1 (and for fun a legacy numbering). Whether Of The Earth graduates to multiple "seasons" is yet to be determined. 

While there is not doubting the art and storytelling here as both Condon and Adlard are industry pros, the story seems a little bit of a rehash, thus far (issue 2 is the most current release at the time of writing). The oil that Tabby discovers her grandmother coated in while she huddles in the basement muttering unintelligible things is later see to react like the "Black Oil" of The X-Files fame to the two main protagonists (Tabby and a workman from the oil company that set up the rig). Whether the oil is extraterrestrial or literally "of the Earth" remains to be seen. Judging from the title my bets on the latter, obviously. 

What makes this story different, again thus far, from other current eco-horror comics being produced (like Bad Idea's The Hab) is that there is little by the way of ecological commentary. There are well developed characters (as well developed as they can be over the course of two issues) and a hefty sense of mystery as to what exactly is going on with this strange oil. 

This mini series is worth picking up though as the pedigree of the artist and writer suggests it will become more than just a retread of tired old eco-horror tropes and alien/body horror scares. I'm curious to see where this series goes and how it unfolds. Worth adding to the longbox. Andy's Longbox gives this series 4 stars (to start).