Drumhellar follows the strange and most peculiar adventures of one Mr. Drum Hellar. Hellar is a laid back “man of mystery” who follows visions and travels with Harold, a sort of hallucinogenic spirit squirrel. In issue #1, after having one of his visions, Drum returns to his old hometown. While there, he meets up with an ex and begins a quest that has him unleashing an interesting creature to say the least. Oh, he does also hook up with the “ex” too. In issue #2, Drum is on the hunt trying to corral in the evil that was released… and things are progressing slow it would seem (at least to Harold). The character of Drum seemed likeable enough in #1, but he was quite aloof. That appears to be the design of story writer/artist Riley Rossmo however. And in Issue #2, we begin to see that it’s not really Drum being aloof as much as he is just enjoying the journey for what it is. He becomes more philosophical in these pages, and as a reader you begin to see some method to the mayhem that is going on around our fellow here. He is laid back and cool. The kind of guy you would sit back and have a beer with talking about life’s great mysteries.
I really enjoy how the artwork complements the story so well. Its use of “dreamy” color in some areas and drab fluorescent light (to see all the imperfections) in others help to convey what is going on from the standpoint of our lead character. He may be witnessing bog people attacking a shopping center, but he sees dark visions of the reasoning behind the attack. None of us do, but Drum does, and we get to see it through him.
Riley Rossmo’s artwork is smooth and the beautiful scripting of Alex Link provides a flowing style, having humorous exchanges between our characters that feel like a slice of real life…or at least real life with bog people, mutilated cattle, and colorful spirit animals. It is fun and entertaining with a dash (well a healthy dash) of the bizarre
As with the case of #1, not a whole lot happens in Drumhellar, but a lot does happen. These pages are filled up with well-rounded three-dimensional characters that are full of story. No cookie cutter people here. These people have stories and Drum even brings this fact up when talking with his companions. Everybody does have a story and with the tale of Drumhellar, that story is a rich one.
I recommend Drumhellar as an entertaining title filled with humor and mysticism. It is fun and entertaining, but at the same time it is deep and introspective. Issue one was one of my favorites of the month of November. Issue two continues in that vein, that wonderfully full and rich vein of dreams and visions. Keep it up guys. You’re doing great.
Score: 4/5
Writers: Riley Rossmo and Alex Link Artist: Riley Rossmo Publisher: Image/Shadowline Comics Price: $3.50 Release Date: 12/11/13