The new online comic Friday is a mystery-loving, occult-obsessed, Edward Gorey-loving fan’s dream come true. Written by award-winning writer Ed Brubaker, illustrated by Marcos Martin and colored by Muntsa Vincente, the comic has a uniquely North Eastern United States mystery feel. Friday Fitzhugh is out of her best friend’s shadow for the first time in years. Having opted to go to college four hours away, Friday is figuring out who she is and has stepped away from the strange occult mysteries she once solved with her best friend Lancelot Jones. Still, in Lancelot’s mind, it is like Friday never actually left. When she steps off the train, she is met immediately by Lancelot and the local Sheriff to solve a mystery. The son of the wealthiest man in town has stolen a ritualistic knife from a local archaeological site and appears to have gone quite mad. Out in the woods, Friday swears she sees someone watching them and she and Lancelot have to team up like old times. Still, there’s something unsaid between them and the time for that conversation appears to be coming soon.
Even from the initial cover art, I had a feeling I was in for something special. The art style feels very much in the style of Edward Gorey, minus the hash lines and lack of color. Muntsa Vincente does an incredible job of keeping the colors muted, but punching them up just enough when emphasizing something weird is about to go down. Brubaker and Martin make an incredible team, with Brubaker setting the scene for something that is a mix between a grown up Harriet the Spy and Aleister Crowley book. Martin captures this image with the flair of 1970’s New England fashion. It’s all high-waisted pants, thick coke bottle glasses, and some serious coats.
The first chapter of Friday, The Girl in the Trees, is now available on the website PanelSyndicate.com. This site is designed to let readers pay what they feel an item is worth. After you throw a few dollars to the syndicate (so much fun to say that), you get a download link with either an option that looks better on your tablet, or an option that looks better on your computer. Even after reading, I kept the screen up just to keep looking at the awesome artwork of the sinister woods.
Friday is now available online.
