I guess if I had to describe BOOM! Studio’s new comic book Basilisk #1: it’d be like Supernatural crossed over with X-Men. But more edging towards horror than action.
Basilisk is the work of acclaimed horror writer Cullen Bunn (Harrow County), artist Jonas Scharf (Avengers of the Wasteland), colorist Alex Guimarães, and letterer Ed Dukeshire. I mean, seriously, when your most notable work is Harrow County, you know this is going to be a bloody horror fest.
BOOM! Studios will sell Basilisk #1 on June 2, 2021; for a mere $3.99. You can either head to your local comic book store to purchase it or buy a digital version. You can get digital copies of this comic book on ComiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Kindle.
Warning: spoilers for Basilisk #1 below. If you want to read this supernatural tale of horror, stop here and come back once you have finished reading.
Basilisk #1: Plot Summary
So a group of weirdoes in hospital gowns walks into a random small town barefoot. They look more than a little lost and confused, so a nice townsman asks them if they need any help. Their response? One of them grabs the poor guy’s head and does…something to him. Something that makes him scream in pain. Oh, and causes some kind of red energy tendrils to burn/electrocute him. Yeah, that’s how Basilisk #1 starts. You can probably tell how the rest of the comic book is going to go from there.
The scene in Basilisk #1 then cuts to a random black woman as she prepares for trouble. A lot of trouble, judging from the arsenal she’s packed. Said arsenal includes what looks like a Ruger Mini-14, what I think is a Ruger 10/22, and some kind of heavy-duty revolver. You find out why she’s packing that firepower later when she starts stalking another black woman wearing a blue veil over her eyes. Turns out, said another black woman was one of the strangers who’d wandered into that random small town. The first black woman, whose name is Hannah, reveals that it has been 2 years since then, and Hannah has definitely not forgotten. I’m assuming that the other black woman, whose name is Regan, and the others went on a killing spree after murdering that first guy. Hannah wants revenge for that, and she wants it bad.
Unfortunately, Hannah gets her revenge on Regan interrupted. By a bunch of also-heavily armed thugs, no less. Fortunately though, just when it looks like Hannah is in deep trouble, Regan frees herself and doesn’t kill Hannah. Instead, Regan lifts up her veil and looks at the men. Her eyes shine with a blue light, and when it’s over, the men are all down, dying from heavily bleeding eyes. Yeah, turns out, Basilisk is an appropriate title here for this comic book. The comic then ends with the rest of Regan’s family finding out where she is, and wanting to “bring her back into the fold”. Seems ominous, and it probably doesn’t bode well for the next issue.
Basilisk #2: The Good
So far, I’m really loving the whole tone of Basilisk #1. There’s a creepy, dark tone to it that strongly reminds me of Supernatural. The blood and gore only sets that tone some more. There’s also the part about people with supernatural abilities, which should theoretically be a good setting for a superhero story. However, the whole implied murdering spree of innocent people with superpowers thing makes this a much darker story than your typical X-Men story. Is anyone getting Brightburn from this?
The main characters of Basilisk #1 are also really interesting. Hannah is a woman out for revenge against the people who destroyed her town and her life. Meanwhile, Regan seems to be the atoner. She seems to feel guilt/responsible for the actions of her and her…siblings? Family? In any case, she not only feels responsible, but she wants to stop them from doing it again. It’ll be really interesting to see where this journey of theirs takes them.
Basilisk #1: The Bad
It’s actually really tough to find anything bad to say about Basilisk #1. That’s how much I like it. Although, I guess I kinda wish there was something a bit…light-hearted to relieve the horror a bit. But also not really, since that might disturb the tone a bit. I guess it’s possible to balance the 2, but considering the overall tone, and comedy might not fit in at all. So yeah, just leave it as is.
Conclusion
What do you get when you combined Supernatural with X-Men? You get Basilisk #1. If you want a good dose of horror and action (mostly the former), check out this new comic book series from BOOM! Studios on June 2, 2021. It’ll be a real scream.
Source: BOOM! Studios
