Storm King Comic's "DARK AND TWISTED: LONG HAUL" – Carries A Heavy Load

Gritty, bloody and action-packed, this next instalment of the Dark And Twisted series by Storm Kings will hit shelves on February 21st.

Long Haul is the story of two brothers, Carl and Danny. They haven’t had a easy life, but their sister, Sarah, had been the glue that held their family together after their mother’s passing. On her way to her new job, Sarah disappears, and the police are no help in finding her. The shock is too much for their invalid father, and at his funeral (and with nothing left to lose) the brothers decide to take action.

Their journey leads them to hunting The Nine, a cadre of long-haul serial killers. Responsible for hundreds of deaths across the interstate highways. When the brothers start travelling around, asking all the wrong questions, they quickly find the hunters don’t take kindly to being hunted.

This story was a hell of ride. Like a natural escalation of the Masters Of Horror episode, Pick Me Up (which featured a chaotic collection of travelling serial killers). Brutal and punchy, in 124 pages it manages to tell a very earnest story of desperation, violent revenge and retribution.

Writers Cullen Bunn and Heath Amodio handle the pacing well. There are well timed lulls in the violence to ensure none of the action scenes get too familiar or blur together, so every gun shot and crash are all equally memorable.

Though it functions really well as a one-shot story, some might find it a bit to quickly over-and-done. Especially with referencing a group of nine, signature killers, it’s a little disappointing how few you really get to see or even learn what their individual flair is. However, this is just the sort of setup that would normally be overly drawn out into 9 issues, with way too much padding to force it into the format.

As it stands, we are better off with what Storm Kings has made here, and it is a great read for anyone who like their stories filled with serial killers, bar room brawls, and vigilante justice. Though it is fairly short (for the potential depth of the setup), the core story of the brothers’ journey is fully realised and, at times, endearing.

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