Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: Comics, Damien Hall, entertainment, idw, steve niles, The October Faction

That 70's Foe: IDW's The October Faction Is Coming From Steve Niles And Damien Hall

Published Fri, 21 Mar 2014 16:31:10 -0500

Last updated Fri, 21 Mar 2014 16:31:14 -0500

By Ed Saul

There's a good penny to be made in spotting trends – or at least, there would be if everyone, the grandmother, their grandmother's dog and their grandmother's dog's fleas weren't already doing it for free on twitter, 24/7.

Still, I think I have something here – IDW is is teasing the release of The October Faction, from Steve Niles and Damien Hall, with some promo art that's instantly reminiscent of promos for the latest "Based On A True Story That We Totally Did Not Make Up" ghost flick The Quiet Ones.

The film isn't out for a month or so and the series has no official release date as of yet, but it's interesting to note the parallels – The Quiet Ones describes itself as being about a professor in the 70s leading his students into a hunt for a restless spirit. Steve Niles' description of The October Faction is as follows:

The lead character is Fredrick Allan, a retired monster hunter who is now teaching Monsters & Mythology while he hides from 30 years of enemies. His heyday was in the 70's, so October Faction will flashback to those 70's monster hunting days…

Professor. Monsters. 70's. Spooky gothic stuff. And look, even the promo image of the bearded, slick-haired Prof. Allan in front of the blackboard seems remarkably similar to Jared Harris as the bearded, slick-haired Prof. Coupland in front of the blackboard…

(I was also going to crowbar in a tortured interpretation of Anchorman 2 as the death of the 70's and the rise of the true monsters of broadcast journalism, but it's just not worth the effort.)

Now, I'm not accusing IDW of lifting the idea – it'd be a bit silly, given that The Quiet Ones proudly announces itself as being "From the Producers of The Woman in Black and Let Me In", two of the most tediously formulaic cash-in remakes to have yet seen cinema screens – but if this was a deliberate move on their part, it could be a clever way of drumming up some interest in the book.

Also, Steve Niles is the mind behind 30 Days of Night, so I'm excited to see where this goes. If anything, we might get another iconic horror movie out of it, as with that comic. I doubt we'll get anything like that out of The Quiet Ones.

October, and the trees are stripped bare of all they wear. What does Ed Saul care? Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall but Ed Saul goes on…and on…at http://aboxofbones.com. He can go on and on at you too if you write to him at edsaul.writer@icloud.com.

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