Tabatha is a graphic novel published by TPublications, written by Neil Gibsion, and featuring artwork by The Artist. The book tells the story of Luke and his friends, and the awful series of events that they find themselves in.
Luke is a mailman in Los Angeles, and has been using his job to scope out houses on his route that can provide an easy target. Luke and his friends have been moonlighting as thieves in order to raise funds for an operation that the mother of two of the group needs (thank you once again shitty American healthcare system). When the group comes across the home of a movie special effects technician they think they've hit the jackpot, but come across the remains of more than a dozen brutal murders. Obviously shaken by what they find the group's lives are forever altered when the killer targets them, and draws them into his crazed plots.
Tabatha is, at it's core, a story about how things can spiral out of control, and how simple decisions can have huge, life changing repercussions. But, it's also something of a horror story. Gustav, the man behind all of the awful events of the book, is a scary figure because of how real he is. Okay, so he's trying to bring his sex doll companion to life by putting her 'consciousness' inside a real woman, which is obviously not a real thing, but his motivations and his journey to that point are.
He's scared to get out and meet people. He's shy and tucked away in his own world. He's unlucky with women, views himself as unattractive, believes he deserves love and sex, and resorts to physical violence when he thinks these things are beyond him. He's an Incel. Now, Tabatha was first published in 2014, the same year as the mass killing by Incel Elliot Rodger, and so this story would have been worked on long before Incels became as known to the general public as they are today; as such I can't say whether the creators intended for Gustav to be an Incel, or if his behaviour just happened to fall inline with them. Either way, the fact that there have been at least four mass killings by men like him, with dozens of deaths, makes him an antagonist that's more frightening than most horror characters. He's not a monster or some kind of creature. He's the same kind of person as some who are out in the real world, ready to hurt and kill others because of their unhappiness.
It's in part thanks to this very real scenario that makes Tabatha feel oppressive when you're reading it. The artwork and colouring also adds to this, with many of the panels having little to no background other than dark colours. The result is a book that's dark in not just tone but in look too. There's a simplicity to the art style used that doesn't clutter the panels, that doesn't provide distractions to give the reader a break from the horrors that are happening. Yes, there are a few panels that have wonderfully intricate views of Gustav's home, filled with movie nods and references, but once the terror begins the backgrounds fall away, forcing you to stay in the horror of the moment.
Tabatha isn't a groundbreaking story, it doesn't do anything that challenges the genre or wows the reader, but it does entertain. Which is the most important thing. The characters don't get a huge amount of development, outside of the antagonist, and whilst that's something of a shame you do find yourself caring about their survival. Tabatha is a fun little read that proves to be an entertaining way to spend an hour or two.
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