Edwin continues his investigation in his own quirky style. He believes he may have stumbled upon a new and dangerously huge monster. But why does his otherwise infallible memory have odd gaps right in crucial places? Find out in House of Slaughter #8 from BOOM! Studios.

HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #8

Writer: Sam Johns
Artist: Letizia Cadonici
Colorist: Francesco Segala
Letterer: Andworld Design
Editor: Eric Harburn
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 31, 2022

Previously in House of Slaughter: Edwin has sent to investigate a situation ripe for a monster appearance. After approaching a scout camping in the area and being warned off by a counselor, he has decided to wait. He waits on a boat in Lake Michigan and drifts, talking to his monster, who inhabits the paintbrush he uses. He contemplates monsters, and wonders if the monster they are currently hunting may be larger than anyone has suspected.

ALONE ABOVE THE DEEPS

House of Slaughter #8 opens at sunrise on the calm lake. Edwin is just as placid, and Hermes remarks on this. If there truly is an enormous monster, should they not leave the area? Edwin counters that, if their demise is inevitable, why should they be concerned? He is fatalistic, but at peace. In contrast, Hermes is agitated. Does Edwin have some ridiculous idea that the House of Slaughter will come out and save him? Even that does not matter to Edwin, but he is sure they would send others up to save the camp and the scouts.

He explains further, and we do understand that he is an unconventional thinker. His time near the scouts was brief, but even so, he did not get any of the sense that a monster was in the area, or that an attack was all that imminent. Oddly, he is also confident that Gerde believes he has perished already. Hermes notices up on a thread of fear within him, a fear of completing the task at hand which, oddly, is stronger than his fear of death.

Edwin talks about how people’s behavior is a mystery in part due to their emotions. But monsters are different, he opines, because they have no capacity for emotion. They are, therefore, more predictable. They feed on fear, and hunt in a way that maximize the fear in their prey. But what if there were a monster in an area where people are few? How could it generate sufficient fear to survive? Perhaps it could if it were exceptionally large, such as a dragon.

Edwin throws his food overboard, an act that seems impetuous on the surface, although we wonder of Edwin has a motive. Hermes exclaims at this, and Edwin asks if he is afraid. Hermes would never admit to fear, but Edwin notes that if Hermes were afraid, that fear would be a meal for a larger monster. Edwin starts to throw his water overboard.

Skulls bob up in the water around them. Edwin does not understand why they are supposed to be more frightening than food waste. He remains analytical as he tried to reason why he should be more fearful of this. We know that the totems that the Masks have are their monsters, and we know those monsters are terrifying. Suddenly we see a shift in the dynamic, and Edwin is the one who is terrifying.

Is it not the sheer volume of fear, but the particular variety of fear? Does that impart a distinctive flavor to the fear, and is that what monsters seek? He searches his own memory for a particular case file that may shed some light on this idea. He remembers many of the details, but why is it so uncharacteristically difficult to recall in its entirety?

DIVING INTO MEMORY

House of Slaughter #8 is very much a slow-burning psychological horror story. Being isolated on a flat, calm lake is as much circumstance as it is a metaphor for being within Edwin’s psyche. I like the golden mist on the lake at sunrise. The glow is incandescent, but instead of illuminating the world around Edwin and Hermes, it obscures it and highlights the very small world of the boat itself. This issue is a drama between the young man and his monster, and the tension between them is tangible.

Edwin has brought pages of his journal with him, a journal told through his art which is all drawn in a dark blood red. We see this first as a montage of pictures that he has done, connected by his spoken discourse on monsters and emotions. That shifts seamlessly into Edwin using his art to recall past files he has read and dashes out quick sketches of his memories, rolling them up and putting them into his empty water bottles. Then he sinks into his recollections of the one case that might have some connections, and as he retells what he can recall, these panels are all in red as well. It is a terrific way to make a transition.

BOTTOM LINE: THE FINE LINE BETWEEN PREDATORY AND PREY

If you like a disquieting horror story with the protagonist reasoning through a game of cat-and-mouse while being the mouse, House of Slaughter #8 is terrific. I like the shift in the balance of power between Edwin and Hermes and the way Edwin’s fatalism contributes to his creativity.

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