Comic Rewind: Blackwood

Story Synopsis: Blackwood

Four teenagers get accepted into Blackwood College and enter into a war with the occult in this week’s Comic Rewind, Blackwood.

Blackwood College was not your traditional college.  It specialized in the more abstract alternative type of education.  Blackwood taught more about pagan witch cults and less about the works of Ernest Hemingway.  

However, what may have been the weirdest part of the college is that they gave full scholarships and only full scholarships.  If you went to Blackwood it’s because Blackwood found you, reached out to you and invited you.

Dennis, Reiko, Stephen and Wren were four of the newest students and their lives changed after only the first night at Blackwood.  All four had the same nightmare and found themselves driven outside.  Once outside they saw the Dean of Blackwood wandering the woods with tentacles coming out of his back trying to drag them into a well.  However, things just get weirder after that.

Blackwood was written by Evan Dorkin with art by Andy and Veronica Fish.  Dark Horse Comics published the comic in 2018.

Blackwood Proves Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover

There are two reasons why I read this comic.  The first is that it is written by Dorkin who wrote the Beasts of Burden comics which I liked a lot.  Secondly is the cover.  I love the color with all the black and pink.  That color scheme is my jam big time.  They say “don’t judge a book by its cover” and I said “nah.”  I was wrong because this comic doesn’t live up to how cool its cover is.

Blackwood Lacks The Depth In The Right Places

The horror stuff I liked with the ghosts and a two headed monkey mummy.  However, the horror aspect was not leaned into as much as I would have liked.  It’s just kind of there, but they don’t talk about it as much as I would have liked.  There was a lot of occult stuff they show and reference which I would have loved to see more of.

This comic is another comic I felt like I was dropped into midstory and was not lost, but confused and felt like I missed something important.

The four main characters have an interesting backstory which is why Blackwood chose them.  They all have a predisposition to an occult power because of past trauma.  However, we don’t actually get any of the four’s backstories.  They are only alluded to and their backstories seem more interesting than the entire Blackwood story.

For example Wren watched as all her friends were killed before her eyes and it turned her hair white.  I would have loved to see more of that backstory and that is only one of the four interesting backstories which were alluded to.

The focus of the story was on the wrong part and it left me wanting more.  This is the most disappointing comic I’ve read in awhile.

Rating:

1.5/5

Where To Buy This Comic

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