By Jayden Leggett, Assistant Editor

A fairytale strictly aimed at mature readers, Thicker Than Water is definitely not a fable suitable for children. For fans of B-grade slasher films however, this book should be right up their alley…

Written and illustrated by Australian artist Frank Candiloro (check out some of his other artworks and short films here), Thicker Than Water tells a macabre tale of the Kraven family (an obvious tip-of-the-hat to horror film director Wes Craven of The Hills Have Eyes and A Nightmare On Elm Street fame). Living in a typically creepy-looking shack deep in the woods, the Kravens are a family of cannibals raised in their evil ways by their mother, and the story follows the youngest brother Gunnar (complete with his newly bequeathed machete and bone mask) as he is led out on his first hunt by his older brother Hansen (who bares a striking resemblance to Freddy Krueger.

Making this story more interesting than your standard blood and guts “the killer murders a bunch of defenseless teenagers” fare, the book revolves around Hansen’s inner conflict as he is faced with what his family intends to be his first kill: an almost creepily-innocent little girl who is playing and making flower-rings in the forest. Never before has Hansen encountered such innocence and beauty, but will he succumb to his family’s twisted ways, or is their still hope for his tortured soul?

Reading like a traditional nursery rhyme, the story is written like a poem (albeit a very twisted one), broken up into verses. While this particular reviewer sometimes struggles when reading rhyming poetry, and while not all of the verses rhyme properly, I found it very hard not to get a kick out of the interesting dynamic that is created when morbid and violent dialogue is made to sound like the sort of thing Elmo would sing on Sesame Street. But please, do not read this to your children…

The most interesting aspect of this comic would definitely have to be its unique art style. An abstract style with harsh, hard lines and solid flat black and white tones is used that really demands the reader’s attention, which in my case resulted in me really spending a lot of time becoming absorbed into the artwork and noticing all of the various details that were on offer. This design works very well within the story’s horror setting, while also helping to lessen the full graphic nature of the incredibly gory content that is present in this book, which assists in keeping the visual content somewhat more consistent with that of a traditional nursery rhyme as opposed to the full-blown and incredibly nausea-inducing scenes of violence found in more traditionally-drawn series such as The Walking Dead. I also particularly enjoyed not being able to see Hansen’s face until the end of the story, and the panel depicting a flower-ring placed over a machete provides the perfect symbolism for Hansen’s “good vs evil” conflict.

All in all this was a very well put together piece of art, with visuals and text that work hand-in-hand to create an entertaining horror story that is a perfect tribute to so many classic slasher flicks, yet is also very unique in its own right. To purchase a copy for yourself head over to frankcandiloro.com.

ComicsOnline.com gives Thicker Than Water 4 out of 5 body parts baked in a pie.

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