Book Review: DRAW YOU IN, VOLUME ONE by Jasper Bark

DRAW YOU IN, VOLUME ONE: COLLECTOR’S ITEM by Jasper Bark (Crystal Lake Publishing, June 2024) Paperback, 264 pages. 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

Can you disappear so completely that only one person remembers you existed?

That’s what comics creator Linda Corrigan asks, when her editor, disappears without a trace. Drawn into an FBI investigation by Agent McPherson, Linda and comics historian Richard Ford unearth a chilling link to the forgotten comic artist R. L. Carver, whose work might just hold the key to a series of mysterious disappearances.

As they explore Carver’s life, they uncover the secret history of horror comics, the misfits, madcaps and macabre masters who forged an industry, frightened a generation and felt the heat of the Federal Government. They also stumble on the shadow history of the United States on a road trip that veers into the nation’s dark underbelly, where forbidden knowledge and forgotten lore await them.

Described as “Kavalier and Clay meets Clive Barker,” Draw You In Vol.1 – Collector’s Item is the first in a mind-bending trilogy of novels. It contains stories within stories that explore horror in all its subgenres, from quiet to psychological horror, from hardcore to cosmic horror.

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     In my limited reading experience with the works of Jasper Bark, I've found that no two works are alike. What does remain the same is the visceral dread that he brings to the murderous/violent scenes of each novel. Bark is equally adept at foreshadowing and building suspense along with that sense of unease.

     Suspense and dread is what Volume One of this trilogy is all about and it succeeded in creating my appetite for more. I'll be ordering Volumes Two and Three sometime soon. The story is far from concluding, but Volume One does end with a measure of resolution as well as bringing to a boil all sorts of questions about what may come next.

     DRAW YOU IN is a deft blend of horror and pop culture, steeped in attention-grabbing actual details of the comics industry and liking occurrences to conspiracy theories and some secretive Illuminati-like organizations. It's a real winner!