What to read this weekend: The new Image Comics miniseries, Of the Earth - Engadget

Of the Earth is a new Image Comics miniseries with writers Chris Condon and Andrew Ehrich and artist Charlie Adlard. The first issue establishes western folklore through an excerpt from a book about a mythical monster called the Wildcatter. The creature is described as having a human face and an amorphous body that can be both humanoid and animalistic, with long limbs and horns, and it is oily. Local legend connects it to wildcat wells dug for oil. The story then follows Tabby Black, on the run from a bad domestic situation, carrying a box of cash. She flees to her hometown of Solitude, Texas, but finds that home and her Gramma are no longer what they were.

"The first issue of Of the Earth establishes the story's underlying folklore right away, opening with an excerpt from a book about a mythical monster in the west: the Wildcatter. This beast is said to have a human face, but an "amorphous" body that can be "both humanoid and animalistic, with long limbs and horns." And it's oily (gross!), with local legend tying it to the "wildcat" wells where people dug in search of oil."

"From there, Of the Earth jumps to Tabby, a girl we meet at a truck stop phone booth who is on the run from a bad domestic situation, with a box full of cash in tow. Per the description: "Tabitha 'Tabby' Black flees a sordid life for her quiet hometown of Solitude, Texas and the comfort of her Gramma's home where she was raised. Only home isn't what it once was... and neither is Gramma.""

"The first issue sets a harsh, gritty tone for the story to come, hinting not so subtly at the violence and desolation that waits for Tabby in oil country. It has me absolutely hooked. The next issue comes out June 17."

Read at Engadget