Mini Review: Shrieek! 3

Dave Metcalfe-Carr is back with the third issue of his spine-tingling anthology. With interrogations, little dogs, a fabulous T-Rex, demons, and larger-than-life comic book characters, does Shrieek! 3 go bump in the night? 

So we’re three issues into Shrieek! And it seems for this issue at least that the pressure of creating an instant impact within the crowded indie market has been reduced. As such Shrieek!3 feels a little different to its sister issues. Where the debut issues focused on old-fashioned body-shock horror, #3 takes on a more psychological role to wow its readers.

Much like my reviews for the previous issues I am going to be quite vague when it comes to talking about each strip. With Shrieek! 3 making its way to those who backed the issue on Kickstarter soon, you can safely read this review without any major story spoilers. 

Joining Dave Metcalfe-Carr for this issue are the familiar faces of Ed Doyle, Alan Holloway, John H. Short, Christoff RDGZ, and Dan Pollard with each contributing either a script or artwork to the issue. With Shrieek! acting as a standalone anthology there’s naturally room to explore and as mentioned above most of the strips here use physiological horror as their primary source. That being said while the mind games play out, there is plenty of variation in theme and setting. For example opening strip; Black Sight takes place within an interrogation and portrays an interrogator attempting to break his captive, while the second strip; Any Similarity… deals with a comic book writer whose influence on the page seeps into the real world. There’s also quite an amusing one-page strip from Holloway and Doyle to end this issue that plays on the “little dog” cliche - and as someone who’s fallen foul of the presented situation, it resonated deeply!

As with its sister issues, Shrieek! 3 is perfect for anyone to simply pick up and read. There are no overlapping narratives, and each story comes to its natural conclusion. The standalone format also allows for each issue to possibly become its own entity with Metcalfe-Carr and his co-contributors focusing on a specific topic, or other avenue of horror if they so wish. That being said, for me this issue does feel like the weaker of the Shrieek! trio. While this isn’t a slight on its creative team or overall quality, for me, it didn’t have the same punch that I felt when reading issues #1 & #2. I also didn’t necessarily understand the meanings behind Black Sight, Suzie & the T-Rex, and On A Storytellers Night with all three leaving me with plenty of unanswered questions. However, even with this criticism, I’m still excited to see what‘s in the next chapter of the anthology.  

Overall while Shrieek! 3 doesn’t have the sucker punch attitude of its sibling issues, it’s still an anthology that’ll cement its place on your comic book shelf. With a wide variety of writers and artists who have been pulled in from across the indie comic book scene, there’s a great mixture of styles and themes on offer. While some of the themes did ultimately go over my head, this issue was still an enjoyable read.

Rating: 7.5/10 

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