pub: Bloomsbury. 72 page softcover graphic novel. Price: £ 7.99. ISBN: 978-0-7575-8789-7.

check out website: www.bloomsbury.com

The words 'The Twilight Zone' are evocative, even for those who weren't born when the iconic television show aired. Created by Rod Serling in the late fifties, its 156 episodes brought the cutting edge of Science Fiction, fantasy and weird horror to the small screen, often for the first time.

This adaption of the episode 'The After Hours' is part of a series of faithful re-creations of the original episodes by Rod Serling in comicbook format. Using plain, pastel colours and simple life-like drawing, the comic evokes the styles of the time the episodes were broadcast.



'The After Hours' follows a young women shopping in a department store, looking for a thimble for her elderly mother. The unusually attentive shop staff shows her to an exclusive floor, with only a thimble on show. Confused and beset on all sides, the girl must admit her true nature.

This is an eerie story even now, with a couple of scenes towards the end of the book after the main reveal particularly haunting and very edgy considering the time they were written. The twist is quite easy to spot for a modern reader but the unsettling consequences help leave the conclusion linger on in the memory.

The dialogue is not bad but the age of the episodes on which the comic is based does limit its effectiveness. The artwork is acceptable but not particularly interesting and with the story and dialogue following the original closely, one wonders if there was much point in an adaption which adds little to the television show on which it was based.

Tomas L. Martin