Comics: Getting Into "Headspace"

- by Señor Editor, 9 April 2014

I didn't really know just what the hell is going on throughout most of the first issue of "Headspace", by Ryan K. Lindsay, Eric Zawadzki and Chris Peterson. And it felt good. I can't remember the last time a first issue managed to both get me hooked, and continuously pull the rug from under my feet. Issue two came out today and it keeps getting better. Here's why you should check out "Headspace".

Issue #1 cover

"Headspace" is a new title from Monkey Brain Comics, written by Ryan K. Lindsay, and it seemed pretty normal, for about the first three pages. At the beginning of issue #1 we're in the small town of Carpenter Cove. We see two cops (one of which is our protagonist, Shane) as they put a handcuffed woman, guilty of murder, in a small row boat to drift away. While that's certainly an odd punishment, we soon find out it's the least odd thing about Carpenter Cove. 

As Shane walks through the city, he sees weird monsters attacking people, men and women falling from rooftops, alligators and a dragon; and he's only barely realizing how strange that is. Shane doesn't know how long he's been in Carpenter Cove, how he got there, if it's all real or whether it ever felt real to him. It's like a dream , where you know everything seems somehow familiar and real, yet it's strange and unpredictable. So what is Carpenter Cove? Where is it, and what the hell is going on? Before we find out, we're treated to several interludes.

In these interludes we meet another man, Max, who is running away from cops and FBI agents, while shooting people left and right and being guided by a mysterious voice. These scenes are drawn by Chris Peterson and colored by Marissa Louise (Zawadzki draws and colors the Carpenter Cove scenes), and have a scruffy and sort of dirty feel to them. Max is seemingly a psychopath, seeing things that urge him to kill everywhere he goes. The town of Carpenter Cove is a memory, deep inside Max' head, that's occupied both by real people and constructs of the madman's mind. What is Shane doing there, and why is he just now slowly beginning to see the truth about the town? That's what the series will be getting into.

Max in 'real life'. Art by Chris Peterson.

I'm not really a big fan of abstract stories, but there is a logic, waiting to be uncovered on the pages of "Headspace". What immediately made me want to keep reading is the dreamlike atmosphere of Carpenter Cove, and the way Shane behaves in this odd environment, sort of doing things on autopilot, not really stopping to wonder why there are alligators on the streets, or how he even got there. Lindsay writes these scenes so convincingly that you can't help but be in awe. The things we see in Carpenter Cove keep changing before our eyes, from the mundane, to the fantastical, weird or terrifying, and our hero, much like it is in dreams, reacts to them all like they're natural, only barely beginning to realize that something is off.

There's also this robot dog bartender, that Shane never considered odd until now.

So something is happening in the town, Shane is beginning to remember more and more things from his pre-Carpenter Cove life, and it all has something to do with what's happening with Max. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a more intriguing and bizzare mystery in any comic on the stands right now. It's like the most mindblowing dream you ever had.

What really helps sell this book's unique atmosphere, is Carpenter Cove as drawn by Eric Zawadzki. This man deserves a medal for his art and colors. He's a fantastic artist, and a big part of why everything that happens to Shane makes you feel like you're tripping balls in somebody else's nightmare. His art is so fluent, so perfect in adapting to whatever mundane or insane thing Lindsay puts in the script, that you'll really want to give each issue several reads, to soak in the atmosphere. I can't remember when was the last time I read and looked at something equally weird and subconsciously disturbing.

The alligators or the weird puppet man are some of the least worrying things in this comic.

Issue #2 does a good job of uncovering just enough about what's going on to REALLY make you want to put this book on your regular pull list. I can't and won't spoil anything, though - you'll want to check it all out for yourself.

There's plenty to love in this book, and it's something you really should at least try out. It's been a while since a comic really WOWed me, and I seriously can't wait to read more "Headspace". From two great artists, two intriguing and connected plotlines (Shane in the 'headspace' and Max in real life) and the uncanny atmosphere, to Ryan K. Lindsay's writing, this is one book unlike anything you've read. Get to your LCS or log in to Comixology and buy this.


Are you reading "Headspace"? You should! Let us know if you're already reading it, or planning to give it a go! 

Tagged: comics, Reviews.

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