Peter Pan is a character who feels like the ultimate fantasy for kids and teenagers. Never getting to grow up? Going to a magical land to fight pirates? Having the ability to fly? It’s no surprise that this is a story that’s been retold over and over. Yet after reading the original novel by J.M. Barrie, there’s an underlying horror element that most adaptations miss. Peter straight up takes Wendy Darling away from her home without telling her parents, and he cut off his arch-nemesis Captain Hook’s hand, causing Hook to be forever hunted by a crocodile who wants to eat him. That’s scary as hell, and it’s the kind of energy that Land of Never #1 leans into.
Jim Hoke’s world was shattered when his teenage daughter, Wendy, was abducted in the middle of the night by a hulking masked figure. Six months after the incident, Hoke is doggedly tracking down any leads he can…but his hair-trigger temper and pariah status after fixing evidence at his police job to catch an alleged killer. On his last legs, Hoke stumbles upon something that may bring him face to face with Wendy’s kidnapper, but also opens the door into a wider world of madness.
From the opening pages, Steve Orlando doesn’t let up on the constant feeling of dread racing throughout Land of Never #1. The shock of seeing his daughter being kidnapped sends Hoke into a spiral; he already wasn’t in the best of places, but he constantly drinks, picks fights, and has no regard for anyone else’s boundaries. I like that Orlando is portraying Hoke as a mess before and after the kidnapping, as it shows that the worst things can happen to even those with the biggest flaws. Given the excellent work he’s done on his Scarlet Witch saga for Marvel, Orlando excels in stories of redemption.
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Adding to the horror elements is the chilling artwork by Miguel Mora, especially in his depiction of this world’s Peter Pan or “The Floating Man” as he’s called. The Floating Man isn’t a child dressed in forest green and possessed of a boyish spirit. Rather, he’s a behemoth of a man with a creepy mask that puts Michael Meyers and Jason Voorhees to shame. Mora also plays with time throughout the entirety of Land of Never #1, showcasing a horrific dream sequence where the Floating Man cuts off someone’s hand with a mere spatula and then brutally beats their brains in with a frying pan.
If that sequence of events didn’t sound disturbing enough, Fares Maese makes sure it sticks in the readers’ head as the bright red geysers of blood tend to be one of the few things that stand out in a shadowy collection of colors. The same goes for Micah Meyers, whose letters grow big and twisted during acts of violence. Horror is about atmosphere, and these two want to make sure this comic feels as scary as it looks.
Land of Never #1 puts its own unique and extremely disturbing twist on the Peter Pan story, immersing readers deep into a world of mystery and madness. In a way, it digs deep at the hidden fear that every parent might have had when reading the original story.
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