Golgotha Motor Mountain

by Matthew Erman, Lonnie Nadler, Robbi Rodriguez (illustrator)

Meet the Damnage brothers. Meth cookers by trade and mutant-killing road warriors by necessity in this graphic novel thriller! When a derelict chunk of a passing interstellar rock rains down on Elwood and Vernon Damnage’s meth lab in Golgotha Knob, Kentucky, their lives are turned into a body horror nightmare. Still needing to make their deliveries to the buyers, mutations or not, they set off down Golgotha Knob only to be beset on all sides by crazed addicts, cannibal police, and mutated Neo-Nazis. It doesn’t matter what waits at the bottom of Golgotha Knob for the Damnage brothers because they must ride through a cosmic hell that they’re unlikely to survive… But if these brothers do survive, they’ll finally have made enough money to start over in the beautiful utopia that is Cincinnati. Join superstar artist Robbi Rodriguez (Spider-Gwen) and the dynamic writing duo of Matthew Erman (Witchblood) & Lonnie Nadler (Age of X-Man) on a high-octane motor massacre!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

144 pages, Paperback

Published December 10, 2024

About the author

Matthew Erman is a writer from Columbus, Ohio. Erman is known for his unique storytelling style which often blends humor and heart with the surreal and sometimes disturbing. He co-created the critically acclaimed horror series, "Long Lost,” and the roadtrip fantasy "Witchblood" with his wife, Lisa Sterle as well as being the sole creator for the sci-fi coming-of-age graphic novel “Bonding”. Erman also has written for popular properties such as Power Rangers and The Dark Crystal and has upcoming comics with Mad Cave Studios, IDW, and more.


You can find him online at www.matthewerman.com or in-line at your local Arby’s.

Reviews

[William O’Pomegranate · Rating 1 out of 5]

The art is amazing is great but the story has a near endless stream of asides, tangents, references and unnecessary narration that tried and broke my patience.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for an advance copy of a graphic novel dealing with life in the America that few like to discuss, a place where dealing drugs is a way of life, even if those drugs might be tainted with something not of this earth.

I remember when I first read the book Freakonomics, which was about an economist who looked at many things in American society with a different eye, and one that pointed out a lot of truths and even more unknown truths. One section was about drug dealing. That crack dealers made less than a person working at McDonald's with a lot more risk. Sure one can rise up higher than the Hamburglar and make real money, but most of the time one is spent hustling for the dollar, more than one can make flipping burgers. I imagine dealing meth is even worse. Sure it sounds like a commodity people want, especially in a places where everything even dreams are dying. However one always has to hustle for ingredients. One has to be careful not to blow oneself up. Dealing with your customer base can be scary. As well as dealing with the law. Worse of all what happens when a bit of space debris lands close ruining your supply and making you feel not too well yourself. Capitalism doesn't stop just because of a little mutation. Something our heroes are going to find out. Golgotha Motor Mountain is written by Matthew Erman Lonnie Nadler with art by Robbi Rodriguez and tells a story of family, dying towns, things from space and the changing face, and other body parts of addiction.

Elwood and Vernon Damnage are brothers and entrepreneurs in a dying part of America called Golgotha Knob, Kentucky. The brothers are creators and dealers of methamphetamine, and work hard at what they create, though they don't seem to be getting far in life. Their clients are dangerous, the local sheriff likes to pretend that life is a movie, and things don't seem to be going right. The dream is to make enough to get out of this place, and go to where the lights are shining, and dreams might still be possible. Cincinnati, Ohio. Things go from bad to worse when a piece of cosmic debris, travelling the galaxy for almost 40 million years crashes into the barn/lab, and corrupting their latest batch with space crud. However the boys have responsibilities, so they take their latest batch on the road, leaving a wake of mutations and violence, and vengeance.

A book that mixes Ozark noir, with bits of science fiction and body horror. Also a lot of gross. However what makes this book so good is not just the fact that one can say well its like Dead Ringers meets Breaking Bad with a lot of Jackass and Beavis and Butthead, but the social commentary that lurks under the surface. This could have been an easy story lots of gross art, bit of ultra-violence, and things would have been good. The creators have written a story that looks deep into this place, and time in America. The characters are a lot deeper, even if they look a lot dumber than they are. I like the idea of addiction causing one's body to change is shown with mutations added from the space rock. While the story was good, the art really brings everything together. The echh is clear on every page, things are gross, and disturbing, but never over the top. The art is also telling the story, not just illustrating it, and really makes for a richer experience. I can't call it gross enough, but it fits with what is going on. A different tale than what I expected.

For noir fans, and for Damnage sure for horror fans. A great story to give over the holidays, and one that works on a few levels. Cronenberg fans will really enjoy this.

[Mike Jorgensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wild book and a steep learning curve. I would liken it to "The Seeds" by Anne Nocenti in terms of writing depth and complexity. It is a fairly simple plot with LOADS of background, context, and overlaid narration. The narrator is usually telling a story different from the one the characters are experiencing. It is a storytelling technique that only pays off if you stick the landing and in this case I believe they did.

When I first read this I thought, "eh, it was ok." Despite it being a book about a couple of redneck brothers who sell meth, there is something that invites you to keep chewing on it. Perhaps this is a satire? A commentary? A commentary on a commentary? There has been a big literary movement in the past ten years to focus on Appalachian poverty ranging from memoir to fiction. Perhaps this book is questioning the blind pity for this demographic? Or perhaps this book portrays them as even more pitiable than you can imagine due to the moral decay that poverty creates?

I'm not sure, but I read this for our podcast and will probably re-read this after our recording discussion!

[Justin Reedmore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Golgotha Motor Mountain is a weird tale wherein you take the meteor from Lovecraft's "The Color of Outer Space", but rather than it reeking havoc on an isolated farm, it's found by a couple of hillbilly meth cooks, who then turn around and sell it to neo-nazis and other unsuspecting users, even after they see first hand the Cronenberg style body transformations it causes. All the while pursued by a corrupt (and infected) lawman who has it out for them specifically cause....reasons.

It all is a fair enough excuse, I suppose, for bombastic and colorful art, but as insane as the run down I gave sounds, it's nothing compared to how ludacris it gets. Every panel seems like a further excuse to go bigger, wilder, and for the narrative to become more and more unglued, never to return. It's a nonsensical mess, and it was painful to push through to the amazingly wet fart ending.

*ARC provided by NetGalley & IDW*

[Ian Rapson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked it up for the crazy art, stayed for the surreal body horror and unconventional structure. Feels more like a piece of art than a story. Momentum stalls as the main plot keeps getting sidetracked by secondary narratives - some compelling, some not. The book brushes past lots of ideas without fully exploring them: poor rural America, drug use, cults, KKK, Nazis, sci-fi infections, regional folklore horror, surrealism. I didn't understand the heavy Sheriff and spaghetti Western references early on. Lots of threads that are introduced but never tied off. Could have used an issue for each of the ideas - easily enough material for twice the length. Enjoyed the PDF, but won't be buying a physical copy even though I want it for the art.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It reminded me spiritually of the video game *RAGE* with a cosmic horror twist and an insane color palette. The story itself was a bit generic, albeit one that develops in a very interesting world. The art, action, and colors, though… that’s something special. I showed an artist friend some of the brighter panels, and his response was, “That’s trippy dude, and gorgeous.” I really dug it and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see what would happen if two backwoods boys sold cosmic organic matter meth to dystopian factions, whereby they become horribly transformed by ingesting said organic matter.

I received an ARC via NetGalley.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a showcase for Robbi Rodriguez's fantastic, vibrant art and Marissa Louise's amazing colors. Those elements have to be seen to be believed. The story also is a pretty cool mix of Ozark noir and insane body horror. Essentially it's a mix of Breaking Bad and Richard Stanley's adaptation of The Color Out of Space. It follows two Meth Cooks whose latest batch is mixed with debris from an alien meteor and the insane things that happen when they deliver their tainted drugs to their clients in an impoverished and lawless rural community.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a DNF. I’m 10% in and it’s all about two idiots making meth, wanting to move to Cincinnati and getting interrupted by something landing from space. This is a galley and it’s kind of fuzzy, which makes it hard to read, and I just don’t care to try and struggle through. Even if the meth heads are only part of this for the first few pages it’s not worth getting to the end.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received as an ARC on Netgalley:

This was really interesting. A cosmic horror comic with a plot that doesn't reinvent the wheel but the details/setting are where the story shines.

The art in this comic is outstand with some really mindblowing visuals.

[Jeff Wait · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is really cool, and the plot, form and style are all very ambitious. It’s a good mix of body horror and cosmic horror. I think I was fascinated by the attempt but my enjoyment didn’t match. Just felt very herky jerky. Not sure who I would recommend this to.

[Shawn Ingle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two brothers' meth lab is destroyed by a purple meteor. They decide to crush it up and sell it as their product to replace the drugs they lost. It just gets weirder and more unbelievable in a way that is not entertaining.