Outpouring Comics’ new publication, Inheritance, written by James Schumacher, with artwork by James Burton, is the story of generations of the Normandy family, haunted by the evil spirit of their great-grandfather Walter, which is trapped in the basement (or is he?). Serling, part of the newer generations of the family, is reality-based and doesn’t want to acknowledge the spirit world that threatens to drag his family down.

I was only able to read issue #1 “The Binding of Three,” so it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but this is a solid story and I’m quite interested to see where it heads. The story of a vengeful spirit from the past coming back to haunt the present is a classic, but it holds up well here.  There are some nice moments of suspense that I strongly reacted to as I read this, particularly with young Bean’s little handmade doll Betsy that might be possessed.

Serling’s mother, ill in the hospital with cancer, implores him to believe the danger he is in, and heed her warnings about the stories of her the vil hauntings of her youth. But he attributes logical reasons for things happening in his life currently (like blaming burglars for when his motorcycle shop is trashed just as he arrives home).

There are a lot of things I like about this comic. The artwork is moody and mysterious, all in black and white, and the point-of-view angles of frames are interesting and unique. I like the use of black space on some pages, and the way a sequence is sometimes fragmented , with the background playing an important visual part.

The dialogue is serviceable, occasionally a little clunky (and there are a few grammar errors that were kind of distracting). The story shifts back and forth in time with very little warning, so I had to read it through more than once to keep the timelines straight (it doesn’t help that the characters, as drawn, look very much alike). And, for such a realistically-drawn subject matter, where the creators are trying to inject some gravitas to the proceedings, some of the actions look a little cartoony and hastily sketched.

Ultimately, though, the story is strong enough to sustain itself throughout, and hopefully will continue building on the strengths introduced here into the next issue and beyond. I’m looking forward to seeing more tales of the Normandy family and their evil Inheritance.  Uncle Mike sez: check it out.  Links are below.

http://www.outpouringcomics.com/our-titles/network/inheritance