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Of the Earth #1-6
Of The Earth
Not yet published
Expected 29 Dec 26OF THE EARTH is a nail-biting, sweat-soaked eco-horror story from legendary artist Charlie Adlard and writers Chris Condon & Andrew Ehrich that will keep you on the edge of your seat from cover-to-cover.
Tabitha 'Tabby' Black flees a sordid life for her quiet, rural hometown of Solitude, Texas and the comfort of her Gramma's ranch home where she was raised. Only home isn't what it once was.... and neither is Gramma. A new wildcat oil well has appeared on the property and Tabby discovers Gramma uncommunicative, alone, and covered in oil. When Tabby reaches out to the oil company for help, they send Thomas Morton, an oil worker, to look into the strange occurrences on the ranch. But Tabby and Thomas discover that oil wasn't the only thing tapped by their drilling - and now it's coming for them too.
Collects OF THE EARTH issues 1-6.
Tabitha 'Tabby' Black flees a sordid life for her quiet, rural hometown of Solitude, Texas and the comfort of her Gramma's ranch home where she was raised. Only home isn't what it once was.... and neither is Gramma. A new wildcat oil well has appeared on the property and Tabby discovers Gramma uncommunicative, alone, and covered in oil. When Tabby reaches out to the oil company for help, they send Thomas Morton, an oil worker, to look into the strange occurrences on the ranch. But Tabby and Thomas discover that oil wasn't the only thing tapped by their drilling - and now it's coming for them too.
Collects OF THE EARTH issues 1-6.
- GenresComics
208 pages, Paperback
Expected publication December 29, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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November 2, 2026I've only read one Chris Condon comic I've rated, News From The Fallout, an environmental horror yarn where one of his key contributions was having the sense to stay mostly out of the way of an extremely capable artist, Jeffrey Alan Love. So about the most exciting thing I could see with his name on it was another tale from America's vast southwestern expanses, with another of humanity's dangerous discoveries biting us on the arse in reified horror movie form as well as the actual blowback we so determinedly ignore, and with another great artist attached – Charlie Adlard. Who, as ever, does excellent work, right down to little details comics can so easily forget, like the sweatiness of these environments. But I'm not sure the colouring does him many favours, and, worse, the script completely fails to follow NFTF's lead and leaves him to it. It's co-credited to Andrew Ehrich, to be fair, not that I recognise that name, so who knows how the blame should be apportioned, but either way, there's line after line of dialogue – and even more glaring, characters talking to themselves – explaining what we can already see happening, which would have been excusable in a comic with a less capable artist, but is just clumsy clutter here, and should have been massively trimmed once the pages came back.
It would still have had its failings even then, mind. Lead Tabby Black, on the run from a bad situation when she stumbles into a worse one, is a horror-thriller cliché, but sure. However, when she takes refuge at her grandma's isolated homestead, did the place really have to be called Solitude, Texas? Except grandma ain't right; she's covered in oil and not speaking or moving. And then she is, and it's worse. I would try not to give away why that might be, but in another curious choice, they've given the game away on the front cover. The critter is the wildcatter, some kind of malign thing that emerges from oil reservoirs beneath the ground, destroys, turns people against each other...yes, Marenghi levels of subtext, but in a horror monster, I can accept that. What's more puzzling is that, having come up with a newish monster (this is pretty much a Pertwee Who story with added nodding donkeys, after all), the comic then determinedly tries to erode that freshness. Yeah, old stories shared among oilmen about the monster for a bit of atmosphere and exposition, fine. But each issue ends with excerpts from a book giving us overly extensive backstory which also seems unsure about quite which tier of the unexplained the wildcatter occupies. As in, there are old B-movies about it, one of which we see in the background – but also people refuse to talk about their encounters, and there's a big conspiracy to cover it up, like it's at once Frankenstein and Bigfoot (or, as the book insists on having it, Big Foot, which if anything sounds like a much scarier concept, hopping heavily through the woods). It's one more odd decision hampering a comic dragged down by too many of them.
(Netgalley ARC)
It would still have had its failings even then, mind. Lead Tabby Black, on the run from a bad situation when she stumbles into a worse one, is a horror-thriller cliché, but sure. However, when she takes refuge at her grandma's isolated homestead, did the place really have to be called Solitude, Texas? Except grandma ain't right; she's covered in oil and not speaking or moving. And then she is, and it's worse. I would try not to give away why that might be, but in another curious choice, they've given the game away on the front cover. The critter is the wildcatter, some kind of malign thing that emerges from oil reservoirs beneath the ground, destroys, turns people against each other...yes, Marenghi levels of subtext, but in a horror monster, I can accept that. What's more puzzling is that, having come up with a newish monster (this is pretty much a Pertwee Who story with added nodding donkeys, after all), the comic then determinedly tries to erode that freshness. Yeah, old stories shared among oilmen about the monster for a bit of atmosphere and exposition, fine. But each issue ends with excerpts from a book giving us overly extensive backstory which also seems unsure about quite which tier of the unexplained the wildcatter occupies. As in, there are old B-movies about it, one of which we see in the background – but also people refuse to talk about their encounters, and there's a big conspiracy to cover it up, like it's at once Frankenstein and Bigfoot (or, as the book insists on having it, Big Foot, which if anything sounds like a much scarier concept, hopping heavily through the woods). It's one more odd decision hampering a comic dragged down by too many of them.
(Netgalley ARC)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Of The Earth is a pretty good horror thriller comic. The art is well done and it does a great job really hammering home the tense and foreboding atmosphere. It's also well written, with a clear message about how relentless greed and lust for oil is harming us and the planet we inhabit and our fear of standing against this greed is stopping us from improving things.
However, there are longer excerpts from an in-universe book placed at the end of each issue collected here that really do a disservice to the pacing. The excerpts by themselves are interesting, well written, and do a good job of establishing the wider mythos surrounding the story's monster. They also provide a more direct way for the overall ecological message of the comic to be fed to the reader. But man, reading them at times really felt like having to eat my vegetables. Like, here's a handful of really awesome comic pages with some great horror, the story is picking up, I'm getting immersed, the art is great and spooky, and the tension has been ratcheted up, then everything comes to an abrupt halt as I'm faced with 3 pages of pure text to read before I can get back to the rad comic.
Overall, I had a good time with Of The Earth and still definitely think it's worth giving a shot. Just be prepared for some speed bumps here and there.
Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for the ARC!
However, there are longer excerpts from an in-universe book placed at the end of each issue collected here that really do a disservice to the pacing. The excerpts by themselves are interesting, well written, and do a good job of establishing the wider mythos surrounding the story's monster. They also provide a more direct way for the overall ecological message of the comic to be fed to the reader. But man, reading them at times really felt like having to eat my vegetables. Like, here's a handful of really awesome comic pages with some great horror, the story is picking up, I'm getting immersed, the art is great and spooky, and the tension has been ratcheted up, then everything comes to an abrupt halt as I'm faced with 3 pages of pure text to read before I can get back to the rad comic.
Overall, I had a good time with Of The Earth and still definitely think it's worth giving a shot. Just be prepared for some speed bumps here and there.
Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
My thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for an advance copy of this graphic novel about things that live under the Earth, the problems with returning home, and the evil that is all around us, from people we thought we loved, the corporations that control our lives, and even inside our souls.
Home is a loaded term. Many people think that going home, coming up, finding a home will change things. One however, to paraphrase a common quote, can't go home again. Things change, the world changes. More importantly people change. We look to the past with nostalgia, but maybe its because in the past we had hope. The crushing reality of love gone wrong, of life not one one dreamed, not Walt Disney, more David Lynch. Especially when one comes home and sees something that really shouldn't be there, a sign that even home is not safe from the capitalistic instincts. And that maybe something more has come with it. Of The Earth is a graphic novel of horror written by Chris Condon and Andrew Ehrich with art by Charlie Adlard and tells of a small Texas town, black crude, a hope for peace and sanctuary, and something else, darker than oil, with a viscosity all its own.
Tabitha Black, known to many as Tabby, has left her present to return home to Solitude, Texas and the one place she feels safe the Gramma's home. Tabby's life has burned out, with a bad and dangerous relationship that she is fleeing, and a sense that nothing is going right for her. Solitude will give her a chance, a place to think, and a Grandma to talk to. However things have changed in Solitude. Tabby finds the town seems different, not the same. This continues when Tabby gets to her Gramma's house and finds a big oil derrick sitting flat in the yard. The air is thick with a funk, and a feeling of something being off. Gramma is sitting covered in oil, not talking, and not seeming to care about anything. Thomas Morton represents the oil company, and he is quite busy in Solitude. Something worse than the usual pollution is happening. Oil is not the only thing being pulled from the Earth. And their might be a very large cost.
A dark tale about small towns, exploitation of the Earth, and of people's need, a slippery tale that goes to a lot of places. The story seems a little stock in the beginning, bad relationship, corrupted town, but soon that changes as the story moves gears. Tabby also starts out as a little annoying but also comes into her own, which really helps the story. The art is really quite good. I have long been a fan of Charlie Adlard, starting way back in the Topps The X-Files comics. There is a real atmosphere here, like being around an oil derrick, a feeling that things aren't healthy, things could explode.
A graphic novel I enjoyed, and one that surprised me in quite a few places. A good sense of place, characters that grow, and a horror that seems real, and is quite spooky. Along with some really good art. A fun story, and a group of creators I want to see and read more of.
Home is a loaded term. Many people think that going home, coming up, finding a home will change things. One however, to paraphrase a common quote, can't go home again. Things change, the world changes. More importantly people change. We look to the past with nostalgia, but maybe its because in the past we had hope. The crushing reality of love gone wrong, of life not one one dreamed, not Walt Disney, more David Lynch. Especially when one comes home and sees something that really shouldn't be there, a sign that even home is not safe from the capitalistic instincts. And that maybe something more has come with it. Of The Earth is a graphic novel of horror written by Chris Condon and Andrew Ehrich with art by Charlie Adlard and tells of a small Texas town, black crude, a hope for peace and sanctuary, and something else, darker than oil, with a viscosity all its own.
Tabitha Black, known to many as Tabby, has left her present to return home to Solitude, Texas and the one place she feels safe the Gramma's home. Tabby's life has burned out, with a bad and dangerous relationship that she is fleeing, and a sense that nothing is going right for her. Solitude will give her a chance, a place to think, and a Grandma to talk to. However things have changed in Solitude. Tabby finds the town seems different, not the same. This continues when Tabby gets to her Gramma's house and finds a big oil derrick sitting flat in the yard. The air is thick with a funk, and a feeling of something being off. Gramma is sitting covered in oil, not talking, and not seeming to care about anything. Thomas Morton represents the oil company, and he is quite busy in Solitude. Something worse than the usual pollution is happening. Oil is not the only thing being pulled from the Earth. And their might be a very large cost.
A dark tale about small towns, exploitation of the Earth, and of people's need, a slippery tale that goes to a lot of places. The story seems a little stock in the beginning, bad relationship, corrupted town, but soon that changes as the story moves gears. Tabby also starts out as a little annoying but also comes into her own, which really helps the story. The art is really quite good. I have long been a fan of Charlie Adlard, starting way back in the Topps The X-Files comics. There is a real atmosphere here, like being around an oil derrick, a feeling that things aren't healthy, things could explode.
A graphic novel I enjoyed, and one that surprised me in quite a few places. A good sense of place, characters that grow, and a horror that seems real, and is quite spooky. Along with some really good art. A fun story, and a group of creators I want to see and read more of.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for the advanced review copy of Of the Earth, written by Andrew Ehrich and Chris Condon, with art by Charlie Adlard.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this one, but it turned out to be a pretty good horror story!
We meet our main character, Tabby, as she flees an abusive partner and seeks refuge at her grandmother’s family ranch. However, when she arrives, she discovers that Grandma has had an oil well installed on the property. It turns out the drilling has disturbed something lurking deep beneath the earth, and what follows is a creepy, tense story that reminded me a lot of Ridley Scott’s original Alien movie.
This collected edition brings together all six issues. One thing I particularly enjoyed was the inclusion of written extracts between each issue, taken from a book by a researcher studying the creature, which he calls a Wildcatter. These sections add an interesting extra layer to the story and help build the mystery surrounding the creature.
The writing is strong, and Charlie Adlard’s artwork is excellent, really helping to create the atmosphere and tension that a horror story like this needs.
My only real criticism is that I wish they’d explored Tabby’s backstory a little more. There are hints that she has some kind of criminal past, but this never really gets developed, which left me wondering why it was introduced in the first place.
At 176 pages, this is an easy read that you could comfortably finish in a single sitting. If you’re a fan of creepy horror stories with a bit of a sci-fi feel, this one is well worth checking out.
4 out of 5 stars from me. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this one, but it turned out to be a pretty good horror story!
We meet our main character, Tabby, as she flees an abusive partner and seeks refuge at her grandmother’s family ranch. However, when she arrives, she discovers that Grandma has had an oil well installed on the property. It turns out the drilling has disturbed something lurking deep beneath the earth, and what follows is a creepy, tense story that reminded me a lot of Ridley Scott’s original Alien movie.
This collected edition brings together all six issues. One thing I particularly enjoyed was the inclusion of written extracts between each issue, taken from a book by a researcher studying the creature, which he calls a Wildcatter. These sections add an interesting extra layer to the story and help build the mystery surrounding the creature.
The writing is strong, and Charlie Adlard’s artwork is excellent, really helping to create the atmosphere and tension that a horror story like this needs.
My only real criticism is that I wish they’d explored Tabby’s backstory a little more. There are hints that she has some kind of criminal past, but this never really gets developed, which left me wondering why it was introduced in the first place.
At 176 pages, this is an easy read that you could comfortably finish in a single sitting. If you’re a fan of creepy horror stories with a bit of a sci-fi feel, this one is well worth checking out.
4 out of 5 stars from me. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The gritty, almost grimy art in "Of the Earth" immediately sets the right tone for this horror story. There are no knights in shining armor here, just a woman fleeing from a violent abuser into the crumbling remnants of her past, an abandoned grandmother left to fend for herself against loneliness and poverty, an oil worker gradually realizing just how much violence his company has caused, and the rage of the ancient, hungry creature whose home beneath the earth's surface has been disturbed by human greed.
The book, which compiles the originally separate six issues of the story, is not long, but it manages to contain a surprising amount of lore about the monster in the form of excerpts from a book written by someone researching it. These excerpts come at the end of each chapter, and they describe the so-called "wildcatter" creature and the researcher's journey towards understanding what it is, where it came from, and what can be done about it.
These excerpts do slow the overall pace of the story, as they are purely text without illustration and the text is relatively dry and straightforward, in sharp contrast to the tense and sometimes violent depictions in the rest of the book. However, because they come between chapters, they don't interrupt the flow overly much, serving instead as a sort of intermission from the tension.
Overall, "Of the Earth" is a compelling and dark tale of the consequences of human greed, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this type of horror.
Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for the advanced review copy.
The book, which compiles the originally separate six issues of the story, is not long, but it manages to contain a surprising amount of lore about the monster in the form of excerpts from a book written by someone researching it. These excerpts come at the end of each chapter, and they describe the so-called "wildcatter" creature and the researcher's journey towards understanding what it is, where it came from, and what can be done about it.
These excerpts do slow the overall pace of the story, as they are purely text without illustration and the text is relatively dry and straightforward, in sharp contrast to the tense and sometimes violent depictions in the rest of the book. However, because they come between chapters, they don't interrupt the flow overly much, serving instead as a sort of intermission from the tension.
Overall, "Of the Earth" is a compelling and dark tale of the consequences of human greed, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this type of horror.
Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for the advanced review copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Great read!! I love that some pages are section about the creature in this book. Tales of wildcatter from different people experiences. The story is simple and short. Nothing complicated and quite mysterious.
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Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for giving me the chance to read this book in advance~
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Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for giving me the chance to read this book in advance~
Review of advance copy
This is for issue #1 only. I honestly just picked it up because the alt cover was cool.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews