Hide - the Graphic Novel by Kiersten White
It’s a plot point at least as old as Agatha Christie. A group of strangers assemble in a remote place, often in hope of gaining a fortune, and one by one they disappear or die. Young adult author Kiersten White updated the concept in her 2022 novel, Hide. The story brings 14 young people together in what turns out to be a sadistic hide-and-seek contest in a long-abandoned amusement park, the site of evil deeds from long ago.
No time was wasted in transforming Hide into a graphic novel. DC veteran Scott Peterson adapted the novel with comic book artists Veronica and Andy Fish illustrating the panels in appropriately dark hues. First introduced is Mack, living in a women’s shelter and in desperate needs of the $50,000 prize offered by an extreme sports company. She is tossed into a motley crew of contestants, including a YouTube prank show host, a social media “fitness model,” a graffiti artist, a “zealous crossfit instructor” and “an eternal intern.” Some of Mack’s rivals for the prize are sympathetic, others less so.
Peterson’s text offers pithy comments on the characters. The graffiti artist is “already a branding failure by someone determined to exist outside of brands.” The aspiring writer loses his pen early on. “He doesn’t manage to write anything with it, but he’ll be convinced it’s the lack of pen holding him back.”
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