Beaver Damn #2
Creator: A. Shay Hahn
Publisher: Studio Comix Press
Review by Josh Rose
Horror? Check. Historical? Check. Indie comic? Double check! A. Shay Hahn returns to the height of Canada’s fur trading era with the supernatural horror Beaver Damn #2. We are introduced to the cause of the plague besieging the woods: Baba Yaga. She is a slavic witch that was driven away from her home and whose sisters were destroyed by a mysterious man. (My guess: Rah-rah Rasputin!) After that little backstory, we catch up with the trappers from last issue who are burning a wendigo, but even a burned corpse has the power to affect the living. And the zombified army of animals grows larger with the addition of a crew of voyagers who transported furs over large distances during the fur trade.
Issue #1 did a great job of introducing us to the horrors that were plaguing the forest in 1820’s Canada. Now we are being introduced to the people that are involved in this horrific attack on humanity. This is still a mostly silent issue. There is some speaking but nothing compared to an early McFarlane Spawn comic.
Beaver Damn #2 could benefit from having an additional panel here and there to provide some clarity to the story. I noticed a few spots where the story jumped, and I had to back-step quickly to figure out what was happening. But more than making up for that is Hahn’s art. I promise you, you will never get the image of a deformed squirrel attacking and infecting a full grown man out of your mind. One of my favourite pages involves a girl looking through a window at a squirrel. The lines in the glass work double as panel frames.
The Verdict: Buy it.
If you haven’t read Beaver Damn #1 yet, and you think you’re a fan of history or horror, then you need to go get it. After that, read Beaver Damn #2. You need to get it for the horrifying art alone.
Beaver Damn #2 is available to purchase now at https://www.facebook.com/TheHomelessGMen/
