My Rating
“The Fog”
More than forty years have passed since a supernatural fog rolled into the sleepy coastal town of Antonio Bay and left a trail of bodies in its wake. Most residents have moved on, allowing the horrifying events of 1980 to slowly fade into local folklore. But some legends refuse to die.
Now the daughter of Nick Castle and Elizabeth Solley, two survivors of that terrible night, has returned to Antonio Bay with a team of paranormal investigators. She isn’t here for sightseeing. She wants answers about what happened to her parents, Captain William Blake, and the doomed crew of the Elizabeth Dane. Unfortunately, digging up Antonio Bay’s darkest secrets may also awaken something that should have remained buried.
What really happened between Captain Blake and the original settlers of Antonio Bay? Did anyone survive the destruction of the Elizabeth Dane? What role did the mysterious drifter Bennett play in the 1980 murder spree? More importantly, has Captain Blake’s thirst for revenge finally ended—or has the fog merely been waiting for the right moment to return?
Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
Well, I guess I can finally check “see a sequel to John Carpenter’s The Fog” off my bucket list!
The legendary 1980 film starring Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, and Hal Holbrook remains one of my all-time favorite horror movies. More than four decades later, the movie still holds up remarkably well. Carpenter didn’t need an enormous budget or a mountain of CGI to scare the hell out of his audience. Give the man a lighthouse, a glowing fog bank, a handful of undead sailors, and that unforgettable synthesizer score, and he could turn a sleepy California fishing town into nightmare fuel.
It took more than forty years, but the creators at Sumerian Comics have finally given fans an off-screen continuation of Carpenter’s story. The comic moves the timeline forward to 2022 and introduces a new generation connected to the survivors of the original Antonio Bay massacre. Meanwhile, an older Stevie Wayne remains part of the story, with her son Andrew helping protect those closest to her as Antonio Bay’s supernatural past begins clawing its way back into the present.
What impressed me most about this first issue is how much respect the creative team shows Carpenter’s original movie. They aren’t trying to reinvent The Fog, turn it into something trendy, or toss aside everything that came before it. Instead, the writers build directly upon the mythology established in 1980. Captain Blake, the Elizabeth Dane, Antonio Bay’s murderous founders, and the survivors of that terrible night all matter. This feels like a continuation rather than a reboot wearing the skin of a familiar franchise.
The comic also explores characters and events that the movie only had time to briefly mention. That’s exactly what I want from a sequel like this. Don’t rewrite the original story—dig deeper into it! The additional journal entries concerning the Elizabeth Dane tragedy are a perfect example. Those two pages add another layer to the mystery while making the events surrounding Antonio Bay’s founding feel even darker.
Artist Marco Foderà also deserves plenty of credit. Several returning characters clearly resemble their onscreen counterparts, which immediately connects the comic to Carpenter’s film. I did have to chuckle at Elizabeth Solley. It certainly appears that Sumerian couldn’t—or chose not to—use Jamie Lee Curtis’ likeness. Her loss, if that’s the case! Thankfully, it doesn’t hurt the story.
If this first issue represents what the rest of the limited series has in store, count me in. The Fog #1 respects the original movie, expands its mythology, and leaves enough unanswered questions to pull me straight into issue #2. I’m giving this one four out of five stars and adding the entire limited series to my reading list.
If you’re a fan of John Carpenter’s original The Fog, pick this one up. Something tells me Captain Blake and the crew of the Elizabeth Dane aren’t finished with Antonio Bay just yet.
And Mrs. Kobritz, don’t go outside—the Fog will get you, ya old bag!