Eyesight is an unapologetic story told by creators that have a story in mind that they want to tell no matter what. It’s bold, it’s creepy, it’s strange as hell, but I loved every page of it. I couldn’t get enough of it and re-read it just to wrap my head around what I had read. It’s what I think of when I think of a good indie comic book. The first issue is really the only issue I’m going to talk about in detail, but the other two issues are worthy of the same praise and score.
In the first issue we’re introduced to a kingdom in which swords and lords reign supreme. We find two men at a pub and they’re ranting about someone that’s in charge of protecting the princess of the land. Their candle goes out and we see the person they’re referring to and he’s creepy as hell looking. He lights their candle for them and then walks over and whispers into one of the men’s ears and leaves him shocked and scared looking. From there the story jumps all over the kingdom. We meet the king; we meet the princess and a few men that have no eyes. At the end of the issue something happens and suddenly… everyone is without eyes and dead. Everyone except the princess and her strange bodyguard.
The second issue we find the bodyguard looking for the princess and the two of them trying to figure out what the hell has happened to the entire kingdom. It becomes clear that the city isn’t safe and so in the third issue they begin to make their way to another kingdom for help.
The third issue has a wonderful sequence of liner music that runs throughout most of the comic and it adds to the intensity of the issue. The series is creepy, but even though the third issue is brighter and uses more negative space, the music that runs throughout makes it eerie and somehow creepier than the first two issues.
To be honest I don’t understand the entirety of the story. I don’t’ think we’re supposed to either. I think that writer Callum MacKenzie is leaving a lot of the story open to your own imagination and interpretation. What I find particularly great about the writing is how normal the conversation and dialogue is, but also how honest it is. It’s unapologetic in that regard as you meet people and they talk, but it doesn’t move the story along, but rather just build your view of the world. The bodyguard is a strange character, but MacKenzie makes him very interesting. You’ll just want more of his character every time he shows up.
On the art side it has this great mix of rough horror gothic looking designs, but then it also really captures the vibe of the era as well. Think 19th century if that helps. The first two issues are dark as in the story takes place at night and artist Alex Hood fills every page and panel with black. It’s not that he’s drawn white on a black page, but that he’s carefully filled in every bit of darkness to make white lines. The third issue is the exact opposite and it’s likely to benefit the liner music that runs throughout the issue. It’s a wonderful sequence that’s only made better by the strangeness of the story that issue. The design for the bodyguard is simple and again creepy. There’s just something unsettling about him and that kind of applies to the rest of the story as well.
And the end of each issue is a letter of sorts from the creators and it’s very in your face, come and get us. I loved this too because it shows that they’re going to tell their story no matter what and you’re either going to stick around or drop out; they don’t care either way because they’re telling their story.
If you’re looking for something weird, rough and unpolished, but captivating at the same time… then check out Eyesight. The first issue is free to read on their website eyesightcomix.com with, I’m assuming, the other issues to come. You can donate to the creators which I would love to see since they’re giving out a book I would gladly pay for. They actually sent me print copies that may just be on copy paper, but you know what… I loved it more because of that.
Score: 5/5