Gothic Gags And Haunting Horrors: Mark Russell And Peter Snejbjerg’s ‘Cereal’ Reviewed

What started off as a one-off strip repurposing kid’s cereal mascots as highly-emotive, deeply tragic gothic archetypes soon developed into a much more emotive and melodramatic storyline that soon infused this parade of parodies with tragedy, sadness and our sympathies too. Collectively, and with an additional three chapters to close the story, Cerela is an enthralling and gripping read that takes a pastiche and, along the way, turns the whole affair into a rather meaningful read with a look of Roger Corman about it as well as the echoes of Edgar Allen Poe in the prosaic narrative writer Mark Russell brings to this series.  

Of course, as is often the case I so many classic gothic stories, it man who is the true monster. Those that look like they fit the bill, here, are the victims of one tyrant’s avarice for power and control as the despotic and detestable General Post  lays claim on this fantasy-horror land of sugary shocks and gothic grandeur. I dare any reader not to feel for the tragic tale of Franken Cherrie. Kidnapped at sea and enslaved before being mercilessly experimented upon. A reanimated and miserable wretch, his is one of several stories of woe that haunt this collection. The Leprechaun King, the Marquis De Cocoa and his ever-faithful lady-wife, all of whom share their own sad backstories, and all of whom are linked to General Post. 

What prevents this series from being a parody is the artwork of Peter Snejbjerg and subdued colours of Angelica Ingio, who more or less play it straight in heir presentation of this highly stylised gothic land. The art is a well-balanced mix of the real with the exaggerated. Many of the characters depicted are given very realistic features and expressions when the story requires it, while many of the costumes and settings boarder on the pantomime, but the emotions and personal losses the central cast of characters all suffer from are in no means treated as comical. The language adopted by Russell, much like the well-crafted art of this series of stories, also reflects a more appropriately sombre tone fitting for a story of this nature. Tense, taut and tragic, but still some room for a laugh or two; all the better to give the reader some much needed relief from the torment of the various down-and-out waifs and strays. So, at the height of the rising tension, the gloom and doom is punctures superbly when we finally get to hear of General Post’s motivation behind his tyranny. Ridiculous, but fitting for this gripping yarn.

Cereal is a cleverly written, wonderfully realised collection of gothic giggles but with a truly literary heart that swells and falls in time with the readers’ emotions. And out now from Ahoy Comics.

For more, you can my interview with Mark Russell discussing Cereal here.