Trick ‘R Treat Days of the Dead

Story by: Michael Dougherty, Todd Casey, & Zach Shields

Written by: Michael Dougherty, Todd Casey, Zach Shields, & Marc Andreyko

 

The sequel to the 2007 cult classic brings the same excitement to Halloween as the movie did.  Trick ‘R Treat the direct to video movie released in 2007 has become a must watch around Halloween for those who love the holiday.  Though the creator of Trick ‘R Treat was never given the green light to make a sequel to the movie it did not stop him from getting his story out there for the fans.  The graphic novel Trick ‘R Treat is a sequel to the movie in that it encompasses the same story line as the movie with four different stories interwoven together.  What I love about this novel is that its an appreciation of the holiday that gives you a historical fantasy of how the holiday started. For those who are fans of Halloween this is a must read.

 

SEED

Art by: Fiona Staples

Colors By Jose Villarrubia

 

Review: The first story of the novel starts on Halloween night where a grandfather is sitting out on the front porch with his granddaughter handing out candy to kids.  The premise is the granddaughter is too scared to go trick or treating with her friends so her grandfather begins to tell her a story of the origin of Halloween.  The story of “Seed” takes place in Ireland 1640 the week of Halloween.  Set during the end of the Witch Trials of Europe we are introduced to a young man named Thomas who sympathizes a young woman being tortured for being a witch.  Doughtery does a great job of painting a Romeo & Juliet style of story where love is the foundation of greater things.  I enjoyed the ending of this story showing the link of how Halloween got brought over to the new world.

 

Corn Maiden

Art & Colors by: Stephen Byrne

 

ReviewThe second story of the novel continues with the thread of the young girl still afraid to go outso the grandfather tells her another story.  Corn Maiden has a little darker of a tone than Seed.  Taking place in Illinois 1853 at the height of western expansion we are introduced to Mr. Bledsoe working on completing a railroad line with his daughter tagging along against her will.  The story takes a takes a turn when Mr. Bledsoe’s railroad line is being blocked by a group of Native Americans.  After negotiating for the group to relocate does not work Bledsoe is forced to exploit his daughters new relationship with the Native Americans.  It is in this story we are given the origin of candy being involved with Halloween.

 

Echoes

Art by: Stuart Sayger

Colors by: Guy Major

 

Review:  Echoes is a story that follows a burn out cop in Los Angeles in 1955.  After coming home from drinking to much Jake Perkins is introduced to a young woman who is interested in his skills to find her sister, Beth, who has been missing for a week.  Bledsoe agrees to search for Beth, which starts his journey down a rabbit hole seeing supernatural things.  Out of the four stories Echoes had the most complex story line to it.  It reminded me a lot of a M. Night Shyamalan story just waiting for the big twist at the end.

 

Monster Mash

Art by: Zid

Colors by: Zid & Riccardo Rullo

 

Review: The fourth and final story takes place in modern time following two teenage boys on their last time going trick or treating together on Halloween.  Set in a ultra conservative town where a majority of people lock themselves in church to escape the temptations of Halloween.  For these young boys Halloween is the one time of the year where they can truly be themselves.  The story introduces us to real monsters running around the town harassing the towns’ people.  It is at this time where we see the young boys joining the monsters and really becoming themselves.  The end of this story does a great job of tying everything up together.

 

Michael Doughtery and the cast of Trick ‘R Treat does a phenomenal job of making us understand the meaning behind Halloween.  The artists of the stories do an excellent job of capturing the feel of Halloween while differentiating each other. If you are a person who enjoys getting in costume this Halloween and celebrating with your friend this novel will really hit home for you.

 

Overall Score 8.5/10

From the twisted imagination of Trick ‘r Treat creator Michael Dougherty (director of the upcoming Krampus and Trick ‘r Treat 2 and screenwriter of X-Men 2 and Superman Returns) alongside a top-notch team of creators including writers Todd Casey and Zach Shields(Krampus), Marc Andreyko (Batwoman) and artists Fiona Staples (Saga), Stephen Byrne (Buffy/Angel), Stuart Sayger (Bram Stoker’s Death Ship) and Zid (Son of Merlin) comes this 4-part collection that paves the way for the Trick ‘r Treat film sequel.   
 
Days of the Dead takes readers on a journey through Halloween history with 4 chilling new Trick ‘r Treat tales. Discover old-world lovers whose romance takes a chilling turn and Western pioneers who discover the dark side of the frontier. Travel to 1950s Los Angeles for a tale of pure horror noir and into the heart of small-town America to see some pranksters taught a lesson they’ll never forget.
 
Across centuries of Halloween horror, wherever fear lies, Sam will be waiting…

Source: Legendary Comics

 

Twitter: @olivervsslad