Sour Candy (great title) is a horror-filled story that keeps its finger on your pulse as it sustains its curated, perpetual unease.
In a twist of fate (perhaps) Phil Pendleton crosses paths in a grocery store one day with a young boy named Adam and his mother.
Soon after, his mother is in an accident and suddenly, he’s responsible for this strange child who refers to him as dad.
The story’s first page teases a troubling future for Phil and a promising page-turner as four months in the future, his teeth have fallen out. His face is weathered and it’s clear that this has taken a toll.
The life he knew is turned upside down and now he’s unsure if he’ll be able to survive at all. Who is this boy? What are his intentions? Is he even a child at all?
It’s a freaky little joy to find out these answers. Phil is a sympathetic and interesting character to follow which makes the journey an easy one to devour. There’s also some really fascinating lore built in that shows the level of creativity at play here. It encourages a variety of emotions while being genuinely creepy at times, which isn’t easy to do.
Nothing bad can come from eating candy, right?
The comic is nightmare fuel come to life as it takes the commonality of a shared dream most of us will have at some time and makes it a dread fest. What Phil soon learns runs deeper and darker than he could have ever imagined. First his teeth, but what’s next? When will he no longer be of use?
In many ways, the storytelling in Sour Candy feels more cinematic than some of the other comics I’ve reviewed. While it is easy to visualize because of the stellar artwork, it also leaps off the paper, hopefully luring someone, somewhere, to adapt.
Written by Kealan Patrick Burke, it flits by, becoming weirder with each scene that combines more intimate psychological thrills with the scope of gods and monsters.
The artwork is interesting. It isn’t always consistent, but it has moments that compel some very powerful imagery. This hellish trap that Phil gets stuck in is brutal stuff and the visuals and narrative symbiosis make it a winner.
It’s hard to put down, just strange enough to raise a brow and creepy enough to drop a jaw. Sour Candy is a compelling slice of chilling child fare that might just be effective enough to have you avoiding the candy aisle.
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