Ice Cream Man by W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo, and Chris O'Halloran is a graphic novel I had seen around for a long time but never got around to reading until recently. It isn't the strongest first volume, but the delivery of its core concept is more than enough to get me to try out the following volumes. It is set in a humble, suburban town where suffering individuals are met by the Ice Cream Man, a seemingly friendly salesman who offers them ice cream to fix their troubles. When this offer is accepted, a quirky and demented nightmare ensues specific to their desires and traumas.
This story is reminiscent of other thriller works such as Junji Ito's Uzumaki, or a number of psychological horror films, where something in the town isn't quite right. Though, the mystery is not as much about what is happening to the people, but instead, who or what the Ice Cream Man actually is. He takes a similar position as Mephisto from the Marvel mythos or the classic devil caricature who offers the perfect deal for a terrible price. While this character type isn't unfamiliar, the bulk of the intrigue is how this "miracle man" sells ice cream. Of course, this initially takes most of the scare factor away from the antagonist, but he quietly becomes more intense and more disturbing as the story progresses. Not only because of what he offers, but also because he takes drastically different forms and plants subliminal (but sickening) messages in his ears.
For readers looking to get into thrillers, this is an easy access point. It is not too harsh but remains true to the genre. Visually, this comic has a grungy, but colorful art that mixes dirty palettes and visuals with the vibrancy of a children's book, making the absurdity of the Ice Cream Man and his preying all the more sinister. The antagonist is also such an absurd concept done so well, that I want to know more about him, what else he can do, and why he is terrorizing this town.
