Many movies have been made surrounding the legend of Bigfoot, but I can’t think of a single one that is genuinely good. Leave it to the comics to absolutely nail the hairy monster.
BIGFOOT was a four-issue miniseries from 2004 co-written by 30 DAYS OF NIGHT creator Steve Niles and HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES director Rob Zombie, and drawn by HEAVY METAL’s Richard Corben. The inevitable trade paperback edition collecting the full run was just released yesterday. As someone who doesn’t read comics in single-issue format anymore, I must say the wait was totally worth it.
The first issue begins in 1973, when a family camping trip to a national park in an unnamed state turns deadly. The parents experience a jarring case of coitus interruptus as Bigfoot bursts through their cabin unexpectedly and makes mincemeat of them. The only survivor is little Billy, who – setting the pace for the remainder of the story – grows up and plots his revenge, a full two decades later. Ironically, Billy’s only ally in his hunt for Bigfoot is the park sheriff, who covered up the parental slaughter all those years ago, blaming it on a bear.
BIGFOOT would only work as a straight-up horror tale, and this delivers in spades. The attacks are sudden, brutal and gory, with Corben’s colorful style just over-the-top enough to feed the frenzy. I’ve never read any of Niles’ work before, but I’m a fan of Zombie (as a filmmaker, not a musician), and his influence is palpable (just try and tell me that sheriff doesn’t look like Sid Haig). There’s sex. There’s violence. And none of the mayhem shies away from the hardcore bloody horror. This is both written and drawn cinematically, and would make one kick-ass movie. Until then, this’ll do just fine.
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