Review: Phantom on the Scan

September 03, 2021

"It's going to happen again. Tonight. Another is going to die."

Twenty years ago a comet fell to Earth. Several people connected to the event have developed various psychic abilities. Recently, for some unknown reason, those people have started dying one by one.

Matt knows this because Dorian told him, Dorian being the little dead boy that only Matt can see or hear; a personification of Matt’s powers. With Dorian’s help, Matt discovers that his therapist knows more about what is going on than he has revealed. Despite what he has said during their sessions, he knows that Matt’s unique perceptions are more than just delusions. He also knows the names of other gifted individuals.

Dorian finds four of these people and brings them to meet Matt at a diner. The new arrivals are indeed psychic like him but are wary of Matt and his insistence that they are in danger… until one of them has a seizure that results in his head exploding. As if that were not horrific enough, a small alien creature emerges from the bloody remains of the man’s skull…

Phantom on the Scan by writer Cullen Bunn artist Mark Torres is not for the squeamish. This is one of those tales with a science fiction premise which is nevertheless firmly in the horror genre; as well as exploding brains there is also the spectre of Dorian, little more than a small rotting skull made of shadows, and the vengeful figure of Victor, who gruesomely dispenses justice with his talent for telekinetically manipulating any object and turning it into a weapon.

The tone is dark and unsettling, the characters trapped in a nightmare from which no escape seems possible. The series of horrific incidents is an assault on the senses and the reader is kept guessing as to when the next trauma will erupt off the page. Torres’ art is an unconventional blend of tightly-rendered character faces and expressions with semi-abstract landscapes, adding to the off-kilter feel of the narrative. For the reader this is like dipping into a dislocated fever dream, more edgy and raw than your usual slice of sci-fi drama. Our heroes’ experiences of disorientation and helpless terror come across palpably.

Slowly, painfully, small clues begin to emerge. The comet fall links all the psychics but it is not the only common factor. The mysterious Trellux corporation is involved in all of their lives. Are Matt and his companions the victims of a purely paranormal event or are they in fact guinea-pigs in some obscene experiment?

There are touches of X-Files and Lovecraft here: much to delight the imagination and eye with precious little in the way of comforting reassurances of any happy endings. Despite the bleak outlook, Matt is determined not to give up to despair. Using his powers to uncover the truth has a price, however; every time he uses them he feels himself moving closer to death – with Dorian disintegrating a little more each time.

It’s a race against time in which all roads seem to lead to disaster. Can they solve the mystery before it is too late – and will solving it save them?