Review by Frank Plowright

In a world beset by supernatural intrusions the Gravediggers Union are frequently the only source of salvation humanity has, putting their lives on the line to see off the unthinkable. Over the course of Vol. 1 Cole learned his estranged daughter seems to be set on releasing elder gods back into the world. The learning was at the cost of consorting with a witch and leading two comrades astray.

Wes Craig and Toby Cypress have treated The Gravediggers Union as a straightforward horror series, but there’s now an injection of the absurd in the opening chapter when a selection of cultists in full regalia turn up at a zoo to kill a chimp. It ends in tragedy.

Whereas the first volume was a supernatural mystery, almost everything is now out in the open, and this is a different type of horror, that of festering family resentments. It leads to a far more human story, in effect reducing the fate of the world’s continuation to whether or not a single relationship can be repaired. For all that might sound as if visceral shivers are replaced with sentimental schlock, Craig’s a better writer than that. A faith in humanity’s better nature manifests, but surprisingly, although true to the series theme.

Cypress is at his best when he’s creating monstrous abstractions, which here top his previous creations, and at his weakest when restricted to conversations between people. His panel compositions are strong, but his people are sometimes distorted beyond the prevailing style, and can lack weight. Back on the plus side of the ledger, flashback scenes are drawn differently, using a single watercolour to make a statement, and this also gives them a gravitas, the prophecy sequence looking like a vision of hell scratched on a cave wall.

There’s a bittersweet ending, and an epilogue dripping with dark humour, both in keeping with a well cultivated mood prevalent throughout. If you want your horror offbeat, The Gravediggers Union ought to satisfy.