Ratatosk: Book One is a comic written by Grant DeArmitt with art by Armando Zanker and colors by Shan Bennion. A woman with a knack for finding missing persons heads to Vermont in search of answers. This is a mystery comic that takes place in an eerie town with plenty of investigating and meeting of interesting people. Our leading lady for this story is Cassie Aubert, a woman from Texas who has made a name for herself by finding missing people. She is snarky, direct, and has no time for nonsense. The story begins with Cassie investigating in the woods at night but it’ll eventually move to a few other spots in town that also reek of mystery. The theme here is the strange unknown with a feeling of being watched. There isn’t any violence here. The pacing is steady and almost feels like an episode of a TV show. The tone is serious with the occasional light moment. There are a few intense sections with an overall eerie feeling. Cassie like to speak fast and constantly with a to-the-point attitude. A few pages approach word heaviness but it is usually conversational so it won’t read slow. This is a debut comic that builds an unsettling and mysterious world and our lead is a woman who is determined to discover the answer to her question.
The art here is modern and slightly cartoonish with some excellent use of different shades and lighting. The coloring is realistic with most of tones being on the darker side. The scenery will stand out from the sunsets to the thick woods and to the way the moon breaks through the clouds. The buildings have this rustic look to them that give off a cozy vibe while the atmosphere is eerie and a bit unsettling. The primary location is the Eagle’s Peak Ski Lodge which has great views but the story will take Cassie to the surrounding areas as well. The backgrounds pretty much always contain parts of the scene like the walls, furniture, and nature. The expression level here is around average and the range here is pretty normal. Cassie is almost constantly sporting a scowl and tends to revert to her default right after feeling different emotions. The range here is common for this genre with shock, puzzlement, and confusion being some key looks. The faces here have decent-to-strong features and showcase the emotions well. No action scenes here, and most of the outfits look warm.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes.
“Would I like this?”
If you like mysteries starring a woman of color taking place in a chilly, rural area with lurking strangeness and peculiar people with slight horror vibes than this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
PG-13. Subject matter.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“So why is it now you want to talk?”
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/478799625/ratatosk-book-one/description
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 24
Violent Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic
Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic
**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**
Violence Level – 1
“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”
“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”
“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”
“This was a tournament arc.”
“All my life I had to fight.”
Gore Level – 1
“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”
“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”
“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”
“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”
“This is a slaughterhouse.”
Death Level – 1
“And everybody lived happily ever after.”
“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”
“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”
“Yeah this was a tragedy.”
“Think Gettysburg.”
Porn Level – 1
“Everybody kept their clothes on.”
“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”
“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”
“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”
“Oh. This is porn.”
