Review: The Me You Love in the Dark #5 (of 5)

The fifth and final issue of this horror come obsession book hits the racks and after so much foreplay, is the climax worth the wait? Not normally a horror fan, I have been impressed by this book over the last few months, seeing as it managed to subvert my expectations of the scary book genre. Still, all good things, and some bad, must come to an end.

It seems that Ro has come to her senses and recognises the danger she is in. Now looking to leave her housemate and the house and move into the light, her otherworldly friend finally shows this artist his true colors.

People in an overbearing relationship do not see their partners for what they are for quite some time. Ro’s housemate has certainly shown signs of unhealthy obsessive behaviour throughout this book. Skottie Young masterfully wrapped up his obsession with a love story of sorts where a disenfranchised person in Ro, is subtly seduced. Along with Ro, the reader was also drawn into this almost horror at times. Young peppered the book with the obvious nuggets of truth, hidden in plain sight, hidden by the hope that there is something real between the pair. The dialogue in this issues is certainly more threatening than in previous books; this trick will be fully realised when you go back and read the whole run in one go, though probably not easily enjoyed more than once.

Jorge Corona provides the art for the book. Corona mixes up styles along the way; on one hand you get the over top views of the house resident’s with clever delineation of Ro, who appears a lot older in this issue than in the previous one. This is a great way to show the stress that Ro has been under, whether she knew or even felt it herself. Of course things get a little chaotic; luckily Jean-Francois Beaulieu’s colors are on hand to darken the interior, finally showing us the thing Ro loved in the dark and of course, as alluded to on the cover, the flames of passion that looks to extinguish Ro’s passion. Nate Piekos of Blambot supplies the letters in the usual gothic, almost musical note like font that we have come accustomed to.

I loved the early issues of this book ; the setup was brilliant as was the slow paced love story. Thing is, at some point the horror part was going to come crashing in. It’s a shame that once the full force and view of the creature is shown, the book loses some of its nuance. It is kin of like the Batman Arkham Asylum game in that you complete loads of tasks and clever subplots only for the game to end on a button bashing giant Joker, which doesn’t quit leave up to the various other aspects of the game. Thankfully, vagian like the game, this final aspect does not detract from a larger whole.

Writing – 4.5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Skottie Young
Art by; Jorge Corona
Colors by; Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letters by; Nate Piekos of Blambot
Published by; Image Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network