Red Roots is a new horror thriller comic that follows two parallel, but seemingly unconnected storylines. It begins with a man, later revealed to be a mercenary, codenamed Sands, for the formidable Delta Agency, who busts into a building and bashes, slices, and otherwise ventilates a succession of goons as he makes his way upstairs with a polaroid photo of a woman in his pocket. The intertwining story follows lonely science teacher Katie, who finds a severed head in her closet and comes to believe her mind is unraveling, just like her mother before her.
Like any good first issue, writer/artist De Felici doesn’t overburden the reader with story points, instead focusing on inciting incidents and establishing character motivations that promise an intriguing yarn to come. Accordingly, his narrative approach is economical. Sands’ part of the issue has a noir-ish feel to it – shadowy, high-contrast, with color tones shifting from blood red to sterile blue to intense green, highlighting shifts in mood and pacing. Action is clipped in short bites, even as the panels themselves are wonderfully gothic and expressive. The base tone for Katie’s story is softer, almost beige, but slips into foreboding dark blues and tenser greens as her previously uneventful life slides into confusion and terror.
Despite only offering hints at the story to come, the issue concludes with a couple of wild twists (one of which indicates the meaning of the comic’s title) that send the two characters off in unexpected directions. Curiously (and welcomely), De Felici resists the urge to explain how the two disparate storylines connect, which is perhaps the most enticing mystery of all.
I will pick this one up again, and I anticipate reviewing the first trade when it is published in November.
Item 202 