Horror short story collections have been a comic book mainstay for nearly a century. There’s no shortage of them and “Harrow County” writer Cullen Bunn wants to add “Shock Shop” to the pile with artists Danny Luckert, Leila Leiz and Nate Piekos.
“Something in the Woods, in the Dark” sees a group of people hiking/camping in the woods. This hiking/camping trip is meant to help a married couple whose marriage in in turmoil. Things don’t go well. It’s a decent setup for a horror story set in the woods. Things always go wrong in the woods in horror stories. The artwork here is the better of the two. The woods look scary enough at night and the characters is likeable.
“Familiars” sees a divorced dad moving into a new house after living in a small apartment. After the first night he notices that all his things in that he left in moving boxes have been nicely put away. He discovers that the house some “helpers” that help him do the shores around the house. Anyone who knows anything about stories like this know what to expect even though the surprise may be a lot more than the reader bargained for. The artwork may not be as great as the first story, but it’s still nicely drawn.
The odd thing about this short story collection is that all of them have “to be continued” at the end. Normally short story collections have the entire story in them and not that you have to buy the next installment to find out what happens. This could either be a genius move or the series’ downfall if the remaining plots turn out to be disappointing.
The first volume of “Shock Shop” has two stories with interesting plots that may or may not have satisfying conclusions and neat art with the first story’s art being the better of the two. The idea of splitting the stories into separate issues may make or break this series.
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