Zaalim Manjha #1 (a.k.a., Cell No. 9)
by
Sudeep Menon, Mokemoi (Illustrator), Mandaar Gangele (Letterer)
Another horror entry from Sudeep Menon and I am glad to see him getting a chance to spread his wings.
This latest entry was one I went into with no context outside of it being a horror book – it follows a young woman named Neena Joseph who arrives at a care facility for the sick and infirm, except that the whole place is completely creepy and weird. Also every single inmate seems like a total nut-job or serial killer in the making. She experiences wierdness aplenty and about two-third of the way into the story is when we actually get to meet the titular Zaalim Manjha himself and the action really kicks off. I cannot really tell you a whole lot more than that without giving away some of the fun elements of the story.
The late arrival of the titular protagonist is not usual but it serves a purpose in the narrative and to be honest, it does allow for the creepy atmosphere of the whole thing to be nicely established before amping things up to 11. The hero himself is very much a mash-up/pastiche of John Constantine and Ash from the Evil Dead series – but that’s fine, he’s fun enough in the little bit of him we see.
It’s not the greatest story and it is got its ups and downs but overall it is an entertaining read and a good first chapter in the series – enough that I want to check out the next so I consider that a successful job done.
The art was extremely good fun, albeit a little simplistic and goofy – but the colouring was nicely atmospheric and I give credit where it is due for that. Mokemoi has turned out to be a solid find for Bullseye press and I look forward to seeing more from him as he seems to have a nice energy to the panels he draws.
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One Happy Monk 
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