Eldritch! Volume 1

by Aaron Alexovich, Drew Rausch (Artist)

Anya Sobczek is a snarling science major with an arm full of Darwin tattoos. Her brother, Owen, is a sulking introvert in a coven of teenage occultists. The Sobczek siblings have always been brutally competitive, but now that Owen's blood has started bubbling with ancient tentacled abominations, their rivalry is about to enter a vast new dimension of cosmic terror!
Eldritch! is a comedic horror story with Lovecraftian trappings that pits science against belief.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Gothic, Occult, Fiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 2012

About the author

AARON ALEXOVICH (who is me) was born in Chicago, Illinois, the year Elvis died, but I currently sleep the daylight hours away in Southern California. After neglecting to graduate from the world-famous CALARTS, I took up space in the animation industry for a while, contributing character designs to Nickelodeon’s INVADER ZIM and AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER. I like making comic books way better, though. SERENITY ROSE VOL. 1 was my first published work, but since then I’ve doodled up KIMMIE66 (DC/Minx), CONFESSIONS OF A BLABBERMOUTH (written by Mike and Louise Carey, DC/Minx), SERENITY ROSE VOL. 2, and issue #64 of DC/Vertigo’s 2000 lb. gorilla, FABLES. Among other things. I am the proud owner of two cats, one theremin, a Facebook account and something called “the photic reflex,” which makes me sneeze in bright sunlight.

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing might have gotten this book four stars, but I really didn't care for the style of the art. It just came across as too forcibly cartoony, and in scenes where the artist was trying to convey extreme emotions, that was mostly a matter of making eyes bulge...no matter what the emotion was, the person's eyes bulged. No, really. That, and that pretty much all of the adults in the story were clueless, insane or both.
That said, the basic story of suburban evil was cute and clever, with weird humor intertwined with weird horror. The concept that a sufficient level of belief can make ANY form of magic real was a clever and interesting one. I had a little trouble believing that the originators of this were able to convince their friends to go along with it, but that was necessary for the story, so I kind of just went with it.
Some readers may not mind the art, and so I'm not recommending against it. Just be warned.

[Sabrina Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this. I had so much fun reading it. Aaron's artwork has so much dynamic motion and expression, you can't help but get sucked into the story. While I really like Anya, I also really felt for Owen and Jess. The illustrations really give this book the creep-factor that it deserves, and the story is really well done and makes me want to read more.

[James Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The start of this book really had me. A sister that believes in science, a brother who believes there is more to life than what we know and really wants to prove to his sister that she is wrong.

The lovecraftian presence is throughout the book and the humor is similar to Squee and Bear. (Artwork is similar too)



But the ending seemed rushed. Like the series was canceled and was given half the time to finish the story.




A good start but missed the mark at the end.

[Russell Nohelty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so jealous of Aaron Alexovich​ for being able to write the weird soooo well that it's somehow believable and yet completely unexpected. I', simultaneously overjoyed that's his gift because reading whatever he puts out is always amazing. Eldrich was incredible, not that I could expect anything else at this point.

If you can find it anywhere, pick this book up.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute sibling story with Lovecraftian horror in the mix.

[Karly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am way way too sober for this comic haha

[Siiri Cressey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kind of want to be both siblings.