Written By: Peter Johnson
Drawn By: Matthew Dow Smith
Published By: Wildstorm
For those who have not seen the hit show Supernatural on ITV (CW for the Americans) then this might be a good starting point. The Winchester family of Lawrence Kansas was torn apart when Mary (the mother) died mysteriously in a fire that started in youngest son Sam’s nursery.. The story picks up the day after with John struggling to cope with what’s happened whilst at the same time caring for his two boys, Dean and the infant Sam.
John is at his wits end and the comic shows his emotions very well. Life as he knows it has tilted 90 degrees and he not only has to care for his boys but John also has to find out who or what killed his wife. Friends think he’s losing it and authorities well, they think that too. He soon discovers help in the form of Missouri, a psychic who becomes an important part of both John’s life and makes an appearance in one of the show’s best episodes. We see the drive that sends John Winchester on the path of Evil. And if Evil has any sense, it’ll run and hide.
,p>Not a fan of the senior Winchester after watching the TV show but nonetheless I decided to give this comic a chance. The art is sketchy at times but you can tell who is who and what is going on in most of the panels. It’s always hard to make a comic look exactly like the characters off the TV screen.
The writing so far seems right on. John Winchester isn’t a nice guy, not even to his sons to a point. So writing him as a nice guy wouldn’t work, and thankfully Peter Johnson didn’t take that route. You can see the obsession already coming out in John and that is what spurs on his boys to take down evil as well in the show.
I’d fully recommend this to any Supernatural fans, it’s always fun to see where things started even if you don’t have Dean’s witty remarks or Sam’s puppy dog eyes to get you through the episode. One thing though, where the hell is the car? 1967 Chevrolet Impala anyone? It had better be included in the comic later on, otherwise well, I’ll curse it.
Sabrina Peyton- Newly migrated to the UK to be with her husband. After working for Diamond Comics for a short time she ended up immersed in a few comic book forums and ended up moderating two of the largest, the Warren Ellis Forum (WEF) and Mark Millar’s forum Millarworld).
She’s written for Sequential Tart, The Vampirella Magazine, and is Editor in Chief of Fractal Matter.