STORY BY: Larime Taylor
ART BY: Larime Taylor
COLORS BY: Larime Taylor
LETTERS BY: Larime Taylor
COVER BY: Larime Taylor & Sylv Taylor, Ben Templesmith
PUBLISHER: Top Cow Productions
REVIEW:
Larime Taylor, with colour assists from Jay Savage continues the story of voice in the dark, the story of Zoey a girl born with the compulsion to kill. After losing control of her urges and killing she now hosts a radio station, hoping to control those urges she hosts a radio show now another killer is watching her.
Zoey is left wondering through most of this issue, who is the killer? Even rationalising that because she does not have a ritual or kills in the same manner, she is not a serial killer. This is the disturbing nature of this comic, or lead rationalises everything she does whilst also remaining a very relatable college student. You are reviled and empathise with the character all at the same time which makes this comic very disturbing.
For a comic that has barely any action, you are on the edge of the seat whilst reading it. Not in the elation of your favourite superhero beating the living snot out of the villain but, in the disturbing and quite oppressive nature of this story. It gets into your mind as you“re reading it, you wonder if Zoey does just have that compulsion or is that an excuse that frees her moral side when she is killing. Why is she forcing herself into a position where she is out in the open about the murders she has committed? We know this has ramifications for her based on the opening of the book, but what makes a character such as this, that at this point has been anything but careful.
The art by Taylor and colours from Savage add to this oppressive disturbing nature. Whilst Taylor characters are very expressive Zoey herself is usually portrayed with a neutral expression which adds to the character massively as you can see that she feels nothing for the acts that she has committed. As this is a book of mainly conversation the simple clean lines allow you to focus on the story being told without getting lost too much in the art, allowing you to absorb the story and setting and it really allows your mind to wonder.
As this books previous volume was done exclusively in black and white adding colour to this volume does not take away from the oppressive disturbing atmosphere but, rather adds to it. The most beige colour scheme for the background allows you to really focus on these characters who are still coloured in a muted palette giving this the gritty feel of a grindhouse film and brighter colours are used liberally, usually on Zoey to draw the reader“s attention to her.
A Voice in the Dark is not a book for everyone, it is dark, disturbing and really gets under your skin. Taylor is crafting a wonderful story with its own distinct style that any fan of horror or a well-crafted story should seek out.
3/5
By Matt Deery
Author Profile
- Matt Deery is an avid comic reader from the UK, relatively new to the writing scene but, enjoying being part of the Comic Crusaders team and getting to talk about some the books that I adore. Will read almost anything Marvel, with Spider-Man and Iron Man being my all time favorite comic book characters and has recently found a love for Image and Valiant books and generally anything Sci FI or Espionage related. Check out my twitter @brujah69ad if you want to stop by and talk comics, video games or movies!
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