Mothwoman

With this new take on legendary cryptid Mothman, Cushing (A Sick Gray Laugh) dives head-first into the surreal horror and humor lurking just below the surface of 2020 America. It starts with a middle-aged, mentally ill woman setting off on a road trip to visit her parents. After a terrible accident en route, a mysterious entity that has been following her reveals himself, telling her that her true name is Nid Cold and that he is her real father, Indrid Cold, an alien from the Homerealm who had Nid implanted in a human host to grow to maturity. Her brother, S’Indrid, known to humans as Mothman, was similarly implanted, but the process of extracting him from his human form has driven him mad and he’s now missing. Before Nid can assume her own alien form, Indrid sends her to search for answer among the group who know the most about the Mothman: the attendees of MothCon 2020. Cushing ably skewers both the U.S.’s response to the pandemic and the era of internet “experts,” and never shies away from the gross or the grotesque. As the weirdness compounds, however, the plot falls away, leading to an abrupt and somewhat unsatisfying ending. Still, fans of weird horror and surreal psychological fiction will find plenty to enjoy. [em](Oct.) [/em]