Review: Abducted
Claire has nightmares...
When she was a little girl she would go up into the hills with her father to collect insects. She would trap them, take them home and pin and mount them.
In her dreams, the roles are reversed. She sees her own face reflected in the compound eyes of the thing that has taken her...
Doc was once the host of a successful show where he investigated claims of paranormal events. Now cynical and burnt out, he kills time taking drugs and watching the mysterious military base near his home.
He sees the large vans come and go...
Claire receives a call at work: her husband has been involved in an accident and taken to hospital. She jumps into her car and races to be by his side.
En route, a vehicle rams her and she blacks out. Paramedics arrive and load her into their ambulance.... but they are not paramedics. The ambulance makes a stop and she is transferred into a large van...
Doc starts seeing visions of a mysterious woman. Astral projection? Or too many magic mushrooms? He decides to break into the secret base...
Written by Zach Herring and drawn by Jay Red, Abducted is a story of reality fragmented, memory and fantasy confused, dreams and hallucinations bleeding into the familiar. All of this will be common ground to fans of The X-Files: Are UFOs real? What do the aliens want with us? How much does "the government" know, and are they collaborating with the aliens? Who are the real monsters?
It also strays further, into territory even more esoteric: What is "reality" anyway? Are dreams any less real than our waking life... or just a mirror for our insecurities? Are psychedelic drugs a gateway to a higher state of consciousness ... or just a chaotic escape from the banality of the human condition?
The story is told in fractured splinters, with no comforting solid ground to hold onto. Likewise the panels break apart and swirl about the pages, echoing the inherently deep sense of disorientation. Our heroes are lost, not just physically, but psychologically. Space and time become pliable, shifting like water. Social conventions such as trust in those in control melt away. Even one's own identity cannot be relied upon as a fixed point of reference. The art reflects this fragmentation with surreal perspectives and dramatically unnatural colours as the characters break through walls of perception and sanity.
There are no clues as to where this story is going, the only thing you can be certain of here is that... you cannot be certain of anything. If that sounds like an exciting journey, let this take you away.
Zak Webber
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