A Whole New Dimension Of Wonderful Terror: Reviewing ‘The Cull’ #2

A group of teenagers ignoring every horror story rule while traipsing through a creepy dimension. Surely, nothing will go wrong.

The Cull #2 continues this character-rich gorgeous terrifying science-fiction adventure from Kelly Thompson, Mattia de Iulis, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. If any of those descriptive words or just series about teenagers doing teenager things in fantastical settings speaks to you, this series is made for you.

There are so few words that can accurately describe just how transcendently gorgeous de Iulis’ work can be. It’s not just that it captures the tone, emotion, atmosphere, etc. in perfect detail. Everything just has this realistic dynamic presence upon the page. I can look at one of these pages and know that it’s a comic book but swear that it’s actual footage.

Feeling and seeing like the characters in this space is essential to really grabbing on for this ride.

Framing is always a key element in many comic books. One could just do a bevy of panels all from the same point of view, just changing the elements in each. Building that deeper more introspective feeling calls for more, though. Zooming us in so that we are at the character’s level is so key to all of this. We’re not passive distant observers, but instead are in a way the hidden other member of this group, wading through all the danger with them.

Really making us like these total strangers is also essential.

Work for hire long-running or licensed comics come with built in characters and fan bases. Jumping into a Spider-Man story isn’t easy. Creative endeavors never are, but there are basic known characters bits any writer can run with. It becomes more about how to mine the character than how to make them relatable/liked by the audience, the original creators already did that.

In the previous review, I spoke about how wise it was to spend that issue really focusing on the characters. Fleshing them out and allowing us to see who they are, to an extent, and what they are dealing with. This focus continues into this issue which is again, a very smart move. We feel the horror vibes rising, along with the wonder of this space, but who the characters are is what draws us deeper. Horror can be done without us caring about characters. Slashers do it often, but it’s richer when we begin to worry for these characters because we care.

Everything here just works, because Thompson creates a realistic sense of emotional turmoil. So many emotions are boiling amongst these characters, as they put on the proverbial masks they feel they have to. Bottlings things up, and unleashing them in various ways that range from harmful to understandable albeit not entirely timely.

An entire issue of teenagers walking through a strange land, bantering, getting emotional, and more is so engaging. It speeds by but in a good way, in the “Oh that is over, but I want more” type of way.

Setting the tone also falls to Otsmane-Elhaou, who is masterful with that sort of thing. Making sure that the words these characters’ share are packed with personality and emotive energy. Volume, tone, cadence, and everything else to do with speaking and how we interpret it is felt on the page. Reading all of the letters, be they dialogue or captions or SFX, should be an experience of its own alongside how it plays with the rest of the artwork.

All the moments of self-doubt, wonder, joy, lust, confusion, happiness, and concern are clear on the faces that De Iulis creates. With the words though we feel them wash over us at an even greater ferocity, doubling up on all of that energy.

There are only three issues left of this series, and I’m truly wondering what the rest will bring.

The Cull #2  is now available from Image Comics.