Woodsburgh, WA is the place where all the horror starts, with imagery that screams of shows like Penny Dreadful. There is horror unbound from page one as the little mining town feels the wrath of……something. Scoot ahead a few years and the much loathed survivor of the Woodsburgh massacre, Lady Swanson encourages the worship and prayers for the dead. It’s here that we start to meet our cast of characters, before links between all are shown. In to the arena comes the mysteriously travelling Lady Hellaine, who is visiting the place for the first time..again! Throw in the start of a series of grizzly murders and you have all the the ingredients of a sensual Gothic horror, ripe for sheer indulgence.
Mirka Andolfo provides the writing, art and colors for this series. Looking a the writing first; in much the same way as Rogue Planet, there is probably nothing new to add to the horror genre here. All the instantly recognisable tropes are in there. A distracting protagonist who tries to help the town in very odd ways, the cute orphan girl who is looking for the angel that looks like her mother, the brothel and of course the late night carriage ride, the latter with all its hints and teases as to what evil is coming into town. Andolfo works well to craft theses aspects into the story without being too obvious. The towns folk are an equal split between God and devil worshippers so at this point, its fifty/fifty as to which side will come up heads. The dialogue works well, with only sleight confusion around the gentleman with Lady Hellaine; I am sure that all will be clear in due time.
For a lot of people, the big draw will be the art and colors. Andlofo’s work on both is gorgeous. The spindly poses of the early panels make way for panels with more structure, as if confidence was gained during the creative process. It may be that Andolfo just prefers quieter panels than loud action based ones. Whatever the reason, the upturn is fantastic as faces become more emotive, carrying the characters through to their, at times grisly, ends. Panel structure also works for the most part, though I didn’t really see the reason for the big murder splash page, especially given as to that point, horror had been hinted at rather than seen. I guess, that for a first issue, there had to be some sort of pay-off to the genre. As well as the art looks, the colors, ably assisted by Gianluca Papi, are simply staggering. The beauty of the snow scenes really catch your breath. In addition, the shadows are used perfectly to isolate characters at times, giving the sense of loneliness in a far more impactful way than either the words or the art. Finally, the letters provided by Fabio Amelia offer an easy read and engagements need to counter the cohesiveness of the art.
If I am honest, I love a good vampire story. I enjoy the dark romance, the seduction and the time period; this book has all that in spades. The quality of the writing shows that Andolfo clearly has a plan in play and the quality of the art entices the reader into its horrific thrall almost without you noticing.
Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars
Overall – 5 Stars
Written, Art and Colors by; Mirka Andolfo
Colors Assist by; Gianluca Papi
Letters by; Fabio Amelia
Variant Covers by; Hubero Ramos, Artgerm,
Enrico Marini & Marco B. Bucci
Published by; Image Comics
Author Profile
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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
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