The Empty Man: Recurrence

by Cullen Bunn, Jesus Hervas (Illustrator)

Overview

There’s something terribly wrong with Melissa Kerry. Her husband Andrew sees it. Their teenage daughter Vicki sees it. Melissa is losing herself, falling into the grips of the Empty Man pandemic that is spreading across the nation. Andrew and Vicki do all they can to care for her themselves, to keep her worsening condition a secret from the roving government quarantine crews, but it’s becoming harder and harder...until a strange visitor arrives on their doorstep, offering a cure. Written by Eisner Award-nominated author Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, Bone Parish) and illustrated by artist Jesús Hervás (Lucas Stand), Recurrence is the second installment in The Empty Man franchise and explores the psychological horror of a family member in decline, and the depths one will go to protect those they love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641443395
Publisher:	BOOM! Studios
Publication date:	07/31/2019
Series:	Empty Man Series , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	61 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	15 - 18 Years

About the Author

Cullen Bunn is an American comics writer, novelist, and short story writer,[1] best known for his work on comic books such as Uncanny X-Men, X-Men: Blue, Magneto and various Deadpool miniseries for Marvel Comics, and his creator-owned series The Damned and The Sixth Gun for Oni Press and Harrow County for Dark Horse Comics, as well as his middle reader horror novel Crooked Hills, and his short story work collection Creeping Stones & Other Stories.

As of 2018, Bunn writes X-Men: Blue and Venomized for Marvel, PumpkinHead for Dynamite, Subspecies for Action Lab, Shadow Roads for Oni Press, Regression for Image, Unholy Grail, Brothers Dracul and Harrow County for Dark Horse, as well as comics for BOOM! Studios.

Editorial Reviews

08/30/2019

A deadly phenomenon is plaguing the world, spreading like a viral infection from mind to mind. Once contracted, the afflicted feel they receive commands from a mysterious entity, the Empty Man, who urges self-harm, mass murder, and destruction. This terrifying situation becomes real for the Kerry family when mother Melissa comes down with the syndrome and begins self-mutilations. The family tries to treat it themselves, but two different forces barge into their home. One is a group of Empty Man cultists looking to ensure their master's wishes are carried out in full, with Melissa a linchpin for his plans. Joint FBI/CDC agents Monica and Owen are acting outside of their jurisdiction; Monica's former partner has disappeared combating the plague in another dimension, and she feels it's her duty to keep fighting on this side to help his cause. Around the Kerry home and neighborhood, horribly mangled manifestations of the Empty Man's world begin crawling into existence as everyone argues over what to do about Melissa. VERDICT Veteran scribe Bunn (Harrow County), with artist Hervás (Lucas Stand) and colorist Guardia, brings dense plotting and chilling body-horror imagery in this gripping first installment of an ongoing series that metaphorically uses social media as a strange virus metastasizing terror.—Douglas Rednour, Georgia State Univ. Libs., Atlanta

Library Journal

05/20/2019

This chill-inducing collection follows the Empty Man series and delves deeper into its central conceit: a virus that causes paranoia, violent behavior, and shared hallucinations of a demonic “Empty Man” who encourages the infected to kill. When a suburban woman comes down with the disease, government agents Monica and Owen leap into action, racing against the Whisper Oracles, a cult that believes the Empty Man is real and the virus a harbinger of his coming. As the woman and her family decide whom to trust, shadowy monsters descend on the town and the line between hallucination and reality grows less and less clear. Initially awkward at re-establishing the premise, the volume finds its footing—along a path of X-Files-style government paranoia—as it steps back into its dark world. The crisp art is equally effective at action scenes, nightmarish visions, and occasional moments of shocking gore. By the close of the first volume, the story is advancing at a satisfying clip, but it’s still unclear where the various plot threads are leading and whether the reality-bending setup will pay off. Fans of series such as Gideon Falls or Locke and Key are likely to enjoy the combination of psychological and body horror. Agent: Charlie Olsen, Inkwell (July)

Publishers Weekly