When it comes to horror comics, you’d be hard pressed to find anybody doing a better job than Steve Niles. The guy is a fountain of scary, as demonstrated by his new Dark Horse Comics stand-alone graphic novel, Satan’s Swarm.
Here’s the log line:
Dr. Philip Morgan invites entomologists, young influencers, and a reporter amongst others to his secluded coastal research facility for a mysterious and bizarre study. What they find is a zoo of death, where local residents have been eaten to the bone, and the specimens they have come to understand have them on the menu next.
Satan’s Swarm is a quick and dirty 64 page read that I devoured in one sitting. Unfortunately, said reading was done late at night and I may have been more than a little creeped out by Niles’ story of human-eating bugs. One the author’s great skills as a writer is crafting stories that, once they get going, never let up. Such is the case with Satan’s Swarm.
With artist Piotr Kowalski, Niles has the ideal collaborator for Satan’s Swarm. Kowalski’s work is adept at both conversation between the core characters and the grotesque moments brought on by Dr. Morgan’s island inhabitants.
If you’re looking for a spooky story for October, Satan’s Swarm delivers the B-movie goods, albeit in graphic novel form. Just make sure you have a can of Raid beside you while you’re reading.
A big ‘freakin can.
Satan’s Swarm is available now from Dark Horse Comics.
