“Audrey Penn was special. Everyone said so. Some things in a small town you just don’t ask.”
Don’t read those words out loud. It could lead to terrible consequences. Like murder. Of course, if you’re not a fan of the murder podcast “Dead Sounds” and stay far away from anyone who is, you might be safe. Because in Jeremy Haun and Mike Tisserand’s Murder Podcast, that podcast casts a deadlier spell than just trolling for likes.
Before we get to know anyone, Haun dives right in. Yvonne, a young suburbanite finishes up one “murder podcast,” and rolls right to the next recommended one. Upon re-reading, it’s a little chilling to note that “Dead Sounds” is on Season 2. The dulcet narration — we all know what it sounds like — puts her in a trance and she speaks in sync with it. Her husband steps up affectionately, only to be met with a knife to his side. It gets worse from there.
As a character notes later, it’s something right out of a murder podcast itself. Only when the corpse has been bludgeoned into unrecognizability, Yvonne snaps out of the trance and screams.
Don’t worry. It will happen again.
Haun and Tisserand introduce what we can assume are the leads, professional women (including a police detective) meeting for coffee. While not all of them listen to murder podcasts, enough do. But they’re currently more taken up by life plans, and for city scandal, the mysterious disappearance of a politician.
Yes, the book plays to the joke that a lot of women listen to true crime podcasts. It’s funny because it’s true. That’s where the humor ends; the first issue starts by splashing us with blood and then building a terrible sense of dread. It’s all the more tense because Tisserand takes Haun’s written characterizations and lays out such recognizable mundane behavior. In a few short strokes, we’re invested in these women.
I can’t say anymore beyond there is a supernatural figure at work. As much as I try to resist “seeing the movie” as I read a book, I see this movie. As a debut book from new publisher Ignition Press – though made up of comics vets – it’s strong, surprising, and a must-read if you like horror. Which I do.
Ignition Press will also be bringing Haun’s book The Beauty back into print, perfectly timed for the television series from Ryan Murphy to drop on Hulu. If you haven’t read The Beauty, pick that first volume up from Ignition at your local comics shop.
Look, Jeremy Haun writes sticky concepts that could play out a long time. We also know murder podcasts go for several seasons. For some reason, we never seem to run out of murder.
