Fear, Inheritance and Legacy in “Heaven, West Virginia”

Heaven, West Virginia, follows a protagonist afraid to grapple with his own legacy. Like the best horror stories, the fear that manifests as supernatural visions comes from a very real place: the aftermath of grief. In this short, bold new graphic novel by cartoonist Ravi Teixeira, published by Oni Press, readers will find themselves immersed in the perspective of Lamont, a young man who arrives in the town of Heaven, West Virginia, only to be troubled by a figure that stalks him after the death of his father, a monster no one else except him seems to see. As he apprentices under his aunt LaToya’s tea business, he tries to escape his inner struggle of coming to terms with his inheritance, all while being watched by something unknown in the woods.

The artist’s art style is vibrant, clear, and expressive. The dynamically drawn protagonists move seamlessly from panel to panel. Teixeira’s original page compositions frequently take advantage of white space to make you slow down in each scene, and the warm color palette interrupted by a black, grainy background heightens the visceral suspense with every page turn.

Tension lurks from the opening page when we hear a chorus of praises for Lamont’s father, who we are told was a good man, though the darker undertones make this difficult to believe. The grainy texture prevalent on some of the pages creates a sort of static interlude between scenes of church, Christ on the cross, and dialogue, adding to the unease. Though a traditional comic in many ways, Teixeira’s layouts create depth and make you pause in certain scenes to take in a moment, a feeling, a breath. I enjoyed, for instance, how Auntie LaToya’s tea recipes are frequently included as their own pages.

Despite the fact that the format makes for easy transitions, I sometimes found myself craving more. I wanted some narration, or interiority to better understand Lamont’s headspace beyond his external perception of the world and how he adjusts to this town. I often paused reading to revisit scenes to try and figure out what had just happened. I wanted to know who Lamont was outside of his grief, what his interests and ambitions were, how he saw his role in society. What are his desires? I think the character development might have benefited from offering readers glimpses of Lamont prior to the central plot point so we could better understand how different he is as a result of his father’s death.

In between his attempts to adjust to life in the aftermath of the loss of his father, Lamont is followed and hunted by visions of a giant wolf. Immediately it is clear the wolf represents the patriarchal figure in question; however, it’s unclear whether or not the wolf exists solely in the imagination of our protagonist or in the flesh. Either way, the metaphor works to remind the reader of grief’s lingering presence. The dark woods in Heaven become a liminal space where Lamont always feels watched and judged, maybe a manifestation of his own fears and how a single life-changing event has shifted his perception of reality and his constant sense of impending doom.

Towards the end of the story, Lamont’s deep-rooted fears of becoming his father boil to the surface. He can no longer escape and suppress the feelings he’s tried to bury. They bubble to the surface in a battle of inheritance. The more he tries to ignore the wolf, the greater the animal’s presence in his life. “You cannot escape me,” the voice says. “These claws and teeth are yours. This flesh is your flesh. The parasites upon my back are as much yours as they are mine. The poison in me is your rotten inheritance.”

Heaven, West Virginia is a story that offers no easy paths for reckoning with uncertainty: How do we handle the trauma our family gives us? What happens when we can’t hide from or deny the unwanted parts of ourselves? Fans of Southern gothic literature and horror comics will gravitate toward Ravi Teixeira’s fresh tale of grappling with who you are and where you come from while trying to find your own way.