Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead!
Loneliness, Anxiety, and Depression, each an issue that can be aggravating to deal with for a number of people across the world. Add in over thinking things that might have some disturbing paths and its even more aggravating (and worrisome) but dealing with all of it at once? Enough to make one want to fall to their knees as they try and deal with it all and our boy Tyler certainly has a lot on his plate because of L.A.D. on top of dealing with High School stuff and trauma from his past. And as Anthony Stokes mentioned on the Kickstarter for the first issue of Intrusive Thoughts, doing this title served as a form of catharsis for him due to dealing with his own bouts of L.A.D. and I can relate a little as writing Fanfiction helped me out a lot when it came to Loneliness. The world can be an ugly place, especially for those suffering from things like L.A.D. and D.N.S. does a great job with showcasing that in their art for this book.
Add in a Sleep Paralysis Demon that may or may not be real and that ugliness is even more apparent and a bit scary.
As it is, Sleep Paralysis Demons are no joke and I’m fairly certain I had an experience with one awhile back and I’m wondering if Anthony’s had his own experiences with one. Or if perhaps this is something he chose to use for the book to help give Tyler’s situation something of a physical form. Which again, may or may not even be real as this could be a sign of Tyler’s mental state getting ever worse as he prepares for College and dealing with unresolved issues from his past and as well as dealing with jerks. And as we see at the end here, things get a bit… Intense for Tyler with a lovely little cliffhanger Anthony chose to tease us with. I’m looking forward to seeing what Anthony and his Creative Team has in store for us next with this title and if whether or not Tyler will be able to overcome everything he has to deal with.
As mentioned earlier on in this review, Intrusive Thoughts is currently on Kickstarter with 12 days to go, with a 206 backers, and is currently at 4,575 dollars of its 4,000 dollar goal! So there’s still plenty of time to get your pledge in! One of the tiers starting at 40 dollars even features three issues of another title of Anthony’s called ‘Decay’, cool stuff!
Intrusive Thoughts #1
Self-Published
Creator/Writer: Anthony Stokes
Illustrator: D.N.S.
Letterer: Mira Mortal
Reviewer: Rob Wrecks
Summary: When a high school bully pushes a latchkey teenager’s corroding mental state over the edge, Tyler’s mind fractures, birthing a ravenous demon formed from his damning intrusive thoughts. In order to keep his darkness at bay, Tyler must learn to love himself before he atrophies and consumes everything and everyone he’s come to know.
