The Down River People is a 2020 graphic novel, with art by Matthew Fox and written by Adam Smith.
Myers Carpenter is a bootlegger that has to keep his family's speakeasy, The Flatbed, afloat after his father, Darnell, tragic suicide left him by himself. After losing his main source of booze, he finds himself needing the help of his estranged mother, Elsie, and her new family: husband Cheston and Myers's new half-sister PJ, who manage a fishing lodge for wealthy people. Myers sees himself brought even further down into a dark mystery as he entangles himself more and more with his new family.
Tropes
- Ambiguously Gay: Myers's future son is seen taking care of two kids with another man on the Distant Finale, who is possibly his partner.
- An Arm and a Leg: The final confrontation breaks Myers' arm, leaving it mangled with an exposed fracture. The pictures in the finale show that he had his hand removed and swapped for a prosthetic.
- Bookends: The comic starts at a funeral on The Flatbed, with Myers managing the bar at his father's wake. The comic ends far into the future, on Myers's own wake, also at The Flatbed. A man who we suppose is his son is now managing the bar.
- Compelling Voice: Cheston has a variation of this power. He can make people do anything as long as he writes the order in a piece of paper and they read it.
- Central Theme: Grieving your loved ones.
- Cult: Cheston is the leader of one, believing that human sacrifices, coupled with the powers that PJ and Myers have, would bring supernatural entities into the world.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Myers's father had depression and panic attacks, the latter of which he shares with his son, but he was still as loving and supportive as he could to his son, and they loved each other dearly.
- Distant Finale: Chapter 13 takes place years in the future. PJ, who wasn't even of drinking age at the time of the story, is already an elderly woman, and Myers had grandchildren before his death.
- Foreshadowing: Myers comments to Mac that The Flatbed had been in the family for generations before he was born, and they toast to it being there after they're gone. In the distant finale, we see Myers's son is now managing the bar and has children of his own.
- Genre Shift: The comic starts as a pretty solid, down to earth drama, where a young man finds himself in need of his estranged mother while still grieving the tragic loss of his father. About on Chapter 6 of 13, a supernatural component is added when Myers finds a mysterious murder scene comitted by someone Cheston had just interacted with. The final chapters blend the supernatural and family drama elements completely.
- Southern Gothic: The series takes place in the US South, driving into a mysterious horror story in it's second half.
- Spirit Advisor: Myers's father appears multiple times through the story to give him support when he's amidst a crisis or a panic attack, though that is likely just Myers's imagination. When Myers gets taken to a strange otherworld, his father shows up again to support him when he's afraid, in which case, it really is possible it was his ghost.
