Withersin #1.1

The debut first issue of Withersin shows much potential. Although the cover art is more grotesque than scary, and they could make the table of contents a bit more user friendly by including one that doesn’t read like a run-on sentence (page number references would’ve been nice, too). I had to search through the magazine to find the fiction, and I’m not sure if I found it all. But enough with overall nitpicks. Let’s review the fiction:

“Lucky Cat” by Edward Morris is a story cat lovers will die for. Borrowing from Japanese folklore, it contains a good twist at the end. Unfortunately, the six-paragraph infodump at the beginning almost caused me to mistake it for an article. Another problem was that the first two-thirds of the story dragged on. I liked the main character, Kio, and apparently Morris liked him, too—perhaps too much. While there’s much information of interest and a workable character bio, it falls short as a story.

“The Change” by Robert Heinze is just plain bizarre. This flash-sized tale starts with an old man seeing the image of his deceased wife in a mirror and progressively grows stranger from there. The pacing is perfect, and the characterization is both handled well and important to the story. Overall, a great tale.

“Remember the Face of Your Son” is, to say the least, chilling in that “Oh my God what’s going to happen to that poor child?” way. Michael Pignatella knows how to do a tale in first person. He delves into the antagonist’s head, shows his personality, and reveals enough information to make you feel some sympathy. The twist at the end comes unexpectedly and is somehow both logical and perplexing at the same time. Certainly a story worth reading more than once.

“More” by Jason Genovese and M. A. Grey delivers a piece of one-page flash that begins scary, turns predictable, and then ends with an anticlimax. While I applaud their attempt, it just didn’t work for me.

As “Birth” on the magazine cover suggests, Withersin is still an infant and has plenty room to grow. Only future issues will determine how well and rapid that growth will be.