TRANS-SCRIBE: Hailstone by Rafael Scavone

Saturday 8 July 2023

Hailstone by Rafael Scavone - Graphic Novel Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Hailstone, written by Rafael Scavone, with art by Rafael de Latorre and Wesllei Manoel, takes readers back in time to a small Montana town in the 1860s, where a long winter has set in, making life hard for the residents. Not only do the people of Hailstone have to deal with a lack of food, they also have to look on as the soldiers in the nearby munitions and equipment factory set up just outside town are well taken care of. Added to this, a rash of disappearances has begun. Some in the town suspect that the nearby Niitsitapi people (members of the Blackfoot Nation) are responsible for the lost townsfolk, and tensions are mounting.

When a young woman vanishes when out foraging for food, the sheriff, Denton Ross, and his half Niitsitapi deputy Tobias head out into the frozen woods to try to find signs of the missing girl. However, when something mysterious appears and saves them from a pack of wolves attacking the search party, Denton begins to suspect that something unusual is going on around Hailstone. Haunted by the disappearance of his own son, Denton is determined to seek out the truth, no matter what.

As soon as you pick it up it’s clear that Hailstone is a book wreathed in atmosphere. The eerie yet beautiful cover image of Denton Ross on horseback in the desolate, snow covered forest, his face obscured in shadow as his breath fogs in front of him, is stunning, and beautifully establishes the look and feel of the book. This is a book that’s dark in tone, yet bright in how it looks. The pages are filled with the snow covered Montana backdrop, and white is used frequently throughout; yet despite this the book feels oppressive and tense the entire time.

Rafael Scavone sets this tone well early on, with the opening scene of the book depicting a young woman, barely more than a girl, out in the frozen forest searching for anything that can provide enough sustenance to keep her and her family alive during the cold months. The sense of isolation, the desperation of having to scavenge for pine cones because there’s nothing else left to eat, makes the scene feel dour despite the smiles on the character’s faces. This is the only real moment of joy in the book, and from here on out the sense of despair and tension will only mount as Denton and Tobias search for answers. The fact that the soldiers just outside of town refuse to help, and their commanding officer doesn’t even seem to care, adds to this feeling of hopelessness, like Denton is raging against the inevitable.

This is where the horror of the book comes in, the feeling of being unable to do anything. It’s clear that Denton and Tobias are men used to helping their community, who try to do the best they can for the people they’re sworn to protect, and that being unable to solve this issue causes them deep distress. It’s a feeling that I think most readers will be familiar with, that sense that no matter what you do you can’t win, and seeing it here, worming its way through this mystery, makes this an uneasy read at times.

Hailstone also does a decent job at subverting expectations. The book felt like it was telling me a story I’d seen before, and I started to anticipate the eventual conclusion and revelations. But I think it knew that it was hitting a lot of horror conventions, and did so as a way of surprising me when the story went off in an unexpected direction. It’s not impossible to figure out the answers before they’re revealed, but Hailstone at least tries to get you to guess wrong a time or two, and it makes the eventual conclusion that much more surprising and satisfying.