The Fog

Written by Scott Allie
Art by Todd Herman and Andy Owens

I picked this up at a convention because I liked the Mignola cover, and because it was pretty cheap.  I knew Allie's work as an editor quite well, but didn't know if I'd read anything else that he's written, and Todd Herman was unknown to me.  I did not have any clue that this was tied into a film with the same name.  I suppose I was aware of John Carpenter's film, even if I'd never seen it, but I have no memory of there being a remake released in 2005.

Anyway, this short graphic novella was designed as a prequel to either movie, although it stands quite well on its own merits.  The story takes place on Prince William Island in the American Northwest of the period just after the end of the Civil War.  A small mining outpost has been established there, and Chinese labor has been brought to work the mines and the land.  The Chinese live in uneasy deference to the whites, many of whom were former slave holders in the South.

When a strange and familiar fog starts to engulf the town, the Chinese inhabitants recognize what is going on.  They have been carrying a curse for generations, and thought they had escaped it by coming to the New World.

The book is a pretty standard horror comic, although nicely drawn by Herman and Owens.  It's a quick read, but it's creepy and interesting throughout.  It doesn't do much to make me want to see the movie though...