When I saw this at my local library, I thought this was
going to be a funny comic. The premise is that there’s this family realty
business in which they buy up haunted properties, exercise the spirits and the
sell the listing with a guarantee to be 100% haunt free. I saw it as a Wolff
& Byrd: Counselors of the Macabre type comic. I figured I’d get a few
laughs. I was wrong.
Yes, the premise I gave you is true. However, the majority
of the story is rooted in tragedy. The Tobin's have been married for a while
but today is the first day of their separation. The wife is convinced her
assistant is sleeping with her husband. Mr. Tobin probably would sleep with the
help if only he didn’t have to stay in a drug induced state in order to see and
vex the spirits of the afterlife. Caught in the middle is there son who might
have the gift of second sight or is just incredibly bright and good at noticing
stuff.
Despite this not being what I thought it was that does not
mean that this wasn’t an engrossing tale. I devoured the book in less than 2
days. It was almost like reading Little Miss Sunshine in which everyone’s lives
are so screwed up and yet there’s a beauty and poignancy to it all. Plus, some
of the scenes are incredibly powerful and really hit you in the gut like the
scene where Mr. Tobin discovers that a house with frequently breaking windows
isn’t haunted by ghosts but by the tragic rape of the young girl who was the
apartment’s last occupant.
There’s a second volume due out pretty soon. While I felt
that this was a modern classic, I’m not sure if I want to go back down that road
again. There’s a lot of swears, some nudity, and lots of drugs and angst. I
think it’s possible that Red Light Properties: Previously-Haunted Real Estate works best as a single work. I
fear that to expound further might only lessen the impact that this premier
volume left on me.
Worth Consuming
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
SPOILER- I don’t want to ruin the surprise but check the
cover to this book out in the dark. It’s freaky cool and I’ve never really seen
a glow in the dark cover before. Believe me, it scared the crap outta me at
first.
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