Hendricks #1 - What If Stories

HENDRICKS No. 1, July 2019

Marvellously mashing up the motion picture worlds of Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” with that of Ron Underwood’s “Tremors”, Matt Stapleton’s storyline for Issue One of “Hendricks” must surely have pleased fans of either movie franchise when it was first released in 2019. Indeed, if nothing else the whopping thirty-eight-page periodical does an excellent job of fleshing out the silver screen (supporting) character Leonard Hendricks, by showing just how much Martin Brody’s death and the continued corruption of Amity’s town council affected the police deputy; “I was a coward. I ran… We were going to expose them. Mayor Vaughn and that crooked developer Peterson.” 

Foremost of this super-sized comic’s hooks must be the continuation of events after “Jaws: The Revenge” and the author’s enthralling insinuation that the likes of Larry Vaughn always knew that their lovely little island’s waters were infested with man-eating sharks. This suggestion radically alters the “well-meaning and caring” but ultimately greedy portrayal of the town manager by actor Murray Hamilton, and replaces it with a much more dark, deeply disturbing tale of a man’s criminal irresponsibility, as well as arguably cold-hearted manslaughter.

In fact, quite possibly this publication’s biggest highlight is artist Rhys Wootton prodigiously pencilling a terrified titular character being lowered into the monster-filled sea without an air tank or equipment simply to stop him blabbing to the press about the councilman’s dirty little secret. These tremendously impactive scenes are wonderfully dramatic, especially once Hendrick’s poorly maintained cage is easily breached by a particularly hungry great white, and very convincingly explains why the traumatised policeman initially fled the community rather than speak out against his torturers.

Similarly as successful though, is this book’s secondary tale of Leonard unsurprisingly leaving Amity after exposing the mayor’s murderous machinations and supposedly seeking recuperative rest in the idyllic sounding settlement of Perfection. Heavily influenced by the tendril-tearing trauma which made “Tremors” such a beloved horror flick, Stapleton is finally able to show that the former-deputy plainly has some gritty determination of his own, as he neatly pens a homage to the cataclysmic conclusion of “Jaws 2” by having Hendricks lure a predatory giant worm into explosively chomping upon the local electricity mains supply cable.

Writer: Matt Stapleton and Illustrator: Rhys Wootton

Gremmens #1 - What If Stories

GREMMENS No. 1, July 2019

Ably answering the question as to what would happen “if Murray Futterman faced the Gremlins back in World War Two?”, Matthew Stapleton’s self-funded Issue One of “Gremmens” certainly shows that the author was “a child of the Eighties” who has a strong love for Steven Spielberg’s 1984 American comedy horror movie. In fact, it’s a pity something akin to this publication’s storyline wasn’t incorporated into Chris Columbus’s original film script, as it provides Dick Miller's silver screen counterpart with a solid explanation as to just why the veteran soldier is so paranoid of foreign objects and vehicles; “They’re like lizards, big ones. Almost cute…”

Foremost of this twenty-page periodical’s strengths is arguably the writer’s wise decision not to turn the future snowplough salesman into an unstoppable killing machine, but rather depict him hunkered down in the freezing cold of Belgium’s Bastogne alongside the rest of his hapless comrades-in-arms. This claustrophobic ‘I don’t want to die’ atmosphere really helps project the terror of the men facing the German war machine during the dead of night and helps make the sudden appearance of the ferocious Mogwai even more terrifying - especially when they are shown tearing the throats out of the very enemy Futterman is apprehensively anticipating.

Likewise, the Gremlins aren’t shown as being wholly unconquerable either, just a vicious creature who in superior numbers is able to overwhelm an already exhausted, scared and shocked human target. Such ‘realism’ allows for the American Airborne to at least have something of a fighting chance against the formidably fanged monsters, and resultantly adds extra tension to the scenes which show them fending off their assailants with rifle butts as it’s perfectly possible for them to still survive the encounter.

Artist Mark Hooley also deserves recognition for his marvellous layouts, as his illustrations really capture the stark horror of the Allies’ situation when they realise they’re facing both Volksgrenadiers and murderous Mogwai simultaneously during a snowy Christmas Eve in which they can barely see a hundred yards ahead of their entrenched positions. In addition, the illustrator’s use of colour is brilliant, allowing the crimson jets of blood and ghoulish green of the Gremlin’s scaled skin to really jump out of the otherwise predominantly black and white panels.

Writer: Matthew Stapleton and Illustrator: Mark Hooley