Originally published on Set The Tape
Golgotha Motor Mountain is a new sci-fi/horror comic series from IDW Publishing that follows a pair of meth-cooking brothers, from a small town where everyone’s trying to escape and no one wants to acknowledge it exists, on the day a rock from space crashes into their meth lab and changes everything forever.
The opening line of the book sets out a mission statement, a promise of things to come, “This ‘ere is a story of an old rock.” And whilst that is certainly true, by the end of the opening issue of the mini series it’s clear that this is much more than that. It’s also possible that perhaps that simple, almost vague way of describing the story is perhaps the easiest way to do so, as there’s a lot in this first issue that feels dense, and almost incomprehensible. There’s an underlying layer of psychodelia, a narrative and dialogue that don’t quite make perfect sense to begin with, and it quickly becomes apparent that this is going to be a series that requires more than one reading, and may even be better read in one single sitting when all of the issues are out.
Elwood dreams of a place where he can live with bright skies, clean rooms, and a space where he can have a little indoor plant room, and Vern is determined that the two of them are going to get it. However, when a rock from space rips the roof off the barn as it comes crashing to Earth just outside, it ruins everything for them. With the meth ruined, Elwood is ready to give up on their dream. Vern has another plan in mind, deciding to break pieces off of the strange, purple rock, grind it up and sell it as drugs.
There’s not a huge amount more that can really be said about the first issue of Golgotha Motor Mountain both because the stuff that happens in the latter half of the issue should be kept as a surprise, but also because not a huge amount actually happens either. As said earlier, this book feels like it’s going to be better read in a single sitting, and part of that comes down to the pacing. This first issue doesn’t feel like an issue of a comic, not in the traditional sense. You’re barely getting a grasp on the characters and the setting when the book ends.
Part of the problems for me also comes down to Matthew Erman and Lonnie Nadler’s dialogue. There’s a point in the book were Elwood describes Vern’s talking as “Why are you talking like you got a drill put in your skull?”, and this kind of sums up a lot of the dialogue in the book. Characters say whatever comes into their heads, whether it actually helps or not. Vern talks and talks, but doesn’t really feel like he’s saying anything. I don’t learn more about him as a character, nor do I understand more of this world, and half of what he says feels like gibberish. This feeling is further compounded by a gang of militant types who have their own slang and way of talking that makes Vern feel normal by comparison.
Whilst the dialogue made the book hard to get through, Robbi Rodriguez and Marissa Louise do well on the art duties, with Rodriguez providing the art and Louise the colours. The book is interesting to look at, and Vern and Elwood have some exaggerated and unusual features that make them feel distinct from most other comic leads in the horror genre. The book has a messy, moody colour scheme to it too, where the backgrounds will often be bathed in single colours that indicate a change in scene or tone. Plus, there are some moments of body horror here that are truly gross to look at.
Golgotha Motor Mountain might be trying something different, but it still feels too early to really know. Whilst there are some interesting ideas here they feel like they’re buried under a lot of excess, and it makes the prospect of coming back to read the second issue a bit of a tough one.
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