Devil’s Due Publishing; $3.50 each
On Halloween night in 1978, Michael Myers went on a rampage in Haddonfield, Illinois, killing several teenagers and hospital personnel on his single minded quest to murder his younger sister Laurie Strode. In Halloween: The First Death of Laurie Strode, writer Stefan Hutchinson, artist Jeff Zornow, and colorist Nick Filardi imagine what happened in the months after that horrific night.
Laurie is deeply traumatized by what transpired on Halloween and nothing, not even the prospect of graduation, can make her feel happy or safe. She sees Michael everywhere and though others believe she’s hallucinating, Laurie is convinced that the bogeyman is still out there.
This miniseries, which is a mature read, does a good job of depicting Laurie’s state of mind, not only with what happened, but the huge news that she was adopted. As she starts looking at her adoptive parents differently, she also starts reading Judith Myers’ diary and sees how her older sister could already recognize the psychotic side of young Michael. In these sequences, Zornow gives Michael the blank eyes that Dr. Loomis describes in the movies and it sends a chill up your spin knowing what’s to come.
-Amanda Sheriff