Sheriff Shane is the chief lawman of Carpenter Cove a sleepy American town that just happens to reside inside the brain of a serial killer in MonkeyBrain Comics‘ new series Headspace. As we find out more, and things begin to take a turn for the weird he is left to consider his very existence as well as that of his town, but will be be able to sail off into the sunset as a hero or will he be another victim of the diabolical Max?

Publisher: MonkeyBrain Comics
Writer: Ryan K Lindsey
Artists: Christopher Petersen, Eric Zawadzki, Sebasitan Piriz
Price: £0.69/$0.99 per issue from ComiXology

Carpenter Cove is the kind of sleepy American coastal town we are all too familliar with from the world of American TV and movies, and at it’s heart is Sheriff Shane who guards the town and dispatches his own brand of small-town justice. But unlike those million-and-one other small American towns, Carpenter Cove is different. Not only is it in a surreal world full of dragons, alligators and dog-headed robot barmen, it is also the phsyical representation of a serial killer’s mind, and Shane is the man given the task of keeping it in order.

Based on that description you would be forgiven for expecting Headspace to be a dark and gritty, blood-soaked horror story in the veign of Dexter, Hannibal or the recent Nailbiter. But instead of channelling these gore-focused blood-fests, writer Ryan K Lindsay is instead inspired by surrealist 70s TV show The Prisoner and trippy existential movies The Truman Show, which enables him to create a story and world that is much more intriguing and enthralling than it first sounds.

Headspace is split into two distinct story arcs, with each being drawn by different artists to help create further separation. The first strand focuses on Sheriff Shane and Carpenter Cove, dealing with the surreal world of this small town. Shane knows he has been sherriff there for as long as he can remember, but has no memory of arriving. However he does have snatches of memory from a previous life, so what does this all mean?! When he sees his son, who has been dead for three years, at the end of the first issue, his [seemingly] tranquil world begins to unravel as he learns more about the town and it’s purpose. We quickly learn Max has been placed into Max’s mind as a way of controlling him (or perhaps rehabilitating him) and we make the tragic connection between his current life and his past.

The second strand meanwhile focuses on the killer, Max, and his attempts to escape from the law. As his journey becomes more agitated so things in Carpenter Cove begin to unravel more and it is up to Shane and co to control this in order to prevent all hell from breaking loose. Unlike other books where Max would be the focus of the action, his story is almost a subplot in Headspace (despite him being the lead bad guy), and as such feels bit under-developed when compared to the world of Carpenter Cove. But that is not as bad as it may sound as it is not Max’s actions that are directly leading the story and so again helps it feel different from a normal serial killer tale.

Lindsay does a brilliant job of marshalling these two stories and interweaving them to create something really enjoyable, while artists Eric Zawadzki and Christopher Petersen (who is replaced by Sebasitan Piriz in issue 3) do a fantastic job crafting each world with distinct identities. This really helps the two stranded story arc work and Zawadski especially, who handles the lion share of the artwork, does a great job creating the wierd and wonderful world of Carpenter Cove. His style is very naturalistic and quite ‘traditional’ which helps create a nice juxtaposition between the more peculiar elements and the very straight laced small town and reigns in some of the more extreme moments which could drift off into ridiculousness.

By focusing on the existential rather than the horrific, Lindsay creates a book that definitely benefits from repeat reading but also rewards readers for paying attention. His story-telling isn’t dumbed down at all, although he still keeps in a bit of blood and guts for those who want it, but instead focuses on the surreal and fantastic elements that represent Max’s fears and psyche in Carpenter Cove. As we learn more about why Shane has been placed into Max’s mind and the role the residents of Carpenter Cove have in controlling him (which includes a rampaging Lovecraftian id monster who is held under the local town bar), we are never allowed to settle into a familiar pattern and as such Headspace can be quite confusing at times.

However it is this surrealist nature in amongst some exciting world-building that gives the the story it’s core. The uncertainty is much more a reflection of the books unconventional premise and it’s character’s erratic natures, than anything negative in terms of Lindsay’s story-telling, as this is a fantastically assured comic book that clearly knows where it is going (even if the readers, don’t!).

“A surrealist slice of modern Americana that mixes up the Truman Show and The Prisoner inside the head of Hannibal Lector. Lindsay’s dreamlike world is instantly familiar, yet delightfully different, and feels like a psychedelic fairytale distilled through an HBO box set. Don’t be put-off by the ‘serial killer’ tag as this is smart and intelligent story-telling that takes a fascinating look into the head of a rather nasty man, without relying on buckets of blood and guts.”