Review: Under The Floorboards Anthology
If you're after a comic with twisted tales of horror, aliens, witches, gangsters, spaceships, Bigfoot, futuristic cars, the Devil, parallel dimensions, fever dreams, and murder, then boy is this an anthology for you! Under the Floorboards is a horror and science-fiction anthology that's got it all. And we're going to keep this 100% spoiler-free!
Under The Floorboards features concepts by Andy Brown and written by Mark McCann & Baden James Mellonie. With the art, there is much more so that each story has a unique look. We have Simon Bisley, Douglas Paszkiewicz (Arsenic Lullaby), Clint Langley, Andrei Bressan, Nate Van Dyke, Dom Reardon, David Hitchcock, Juan R Puig, Caio Oliveira, Mate Maciorowski, and Andy Brown. That's an awful lot of talent in one book, and it should surely be enough to get you excited for what's shaped up to be a thrilling anthology.
As usual, we'll start with the art. This is something that got me excited straight away as I love Simon Bisley, Clint Langley and Dom Reardon - they're up there in my favourites list. Visually, this anthology is stunning. It's a visual delight, with only one where I thought that the art wasn't for me, which out of 11 stories is pretty good going. And even then, I wouldn't say it's bad art; it's just not my kind of style. So much of this anthology is totally my jam, though.
There are some incredible pages of art and such a wide range of styles. With every story looking unique, it's one of those where your favourite might be very different to mine. Clint Langley's "The Devils Helper" right at the very end was my favourite, which didn't surprise me much, to be honest, as his art is always incredible. But it was also pretty close with some others.
As for the writing, like the art, each story is unique. There's a lovely mixture of horror and sci-fi that runs you through the emotions. Some you'll be horrified at, others you'll feel a bit uneasy. Maybe even feel sorry for some characters in the few pages that you get to know them in. Might even get a good chuckle out of one.
Every story has its strong points. There was just one story where I didn't feel it, but even with that, the final two pages made it worth it because I didn't see it coming, and I loved that. There are some wonderful stories told that make me ache for more. It's tough to pick a favourite, though, as there's three or four that could easily win it for me.
One story there will definitely be more coming, as it's a short origin story for a previous book, Church of Hell, which will lead on to COH chapter 1 being printed as a graphic novel. But there's a good handful that I would love to revisit - and maybe we will if there's a second anthology. I can certainly hope!
Curating such a diverse story range deserves a lot of praise. Andy Brown, Mark McCann and Baden James Mellonie have come up with some great stories to make this anthology something to remember. It puts you through the emotions, and it looks fantastic in doing so. What more can you ask for as a horror and sci-fi fan?
At the time of writing, there's still a bit of time left on the Kickstarter, which has already smashed its funding goal. If you're a horror and/or sci-fi fan, then you definitely want to check this one out. Back it before the Kickstarter ends. You won't regret it.
Rating: 4.5/5
