Dark Horse Comics 2015
Story by Joe R. Lansdale
Written by Mark Alan Miller
Illustrated by Piotr Kowalski
Coloured by Kelly Fitzpatrick
Lettered by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Last issue was an amazing introduction to the characters inside the Steam Man. This issue we open with them but we don’t stay with them. Today is the day we get to learn more about the Dark Rider. Now I will wholeheartedly admit that i’m not familiar with Steampunk stories so that this is an adaptation now makes me want to read the original source material.
So we open up this issue with the guys in the Steam Man waking up and getting their day started. We get a nice glimpse at the continuing characterization here especially between Captain Beadle and John Feather and it makes you wonder just a tad. Honestly just enough so that you look forward to their next interaction and that’s a good thing.
I do very much enjoy Piotr’s interiors here! That creepy little head spider looking thing yeah it’s following them, keeping tabs on them and it’s just wild. But when we move onto what’s next we see this more detailed look at these ruins that are magnificent in their scope. The attention to detail is amazing and i’m in constant awe plus the moment I see one main item sitting there in the dark i’m instantly aware of who the Dark Rider is and where he comes from. Thus one image changes the entire direction of the story for me and i’m instantly more invested than before and that I hadn’t thought was possible.
As we see his story unfold it’s really interesting. I like seeing where he came from and how the world changed through Piotr’s eyes along his journey. The page layout and the way it looks it really leaves an impact. I like that he does this whole more scientific approach to what he’s doing and how he sees it. Until of course one moment when all that changes.
Then the old adage if it looks too good to be true than it probably is comes into play. Finally he interacts with the world around him and inevitably changes the course of a history not yet written. From that moment onward his actions bring us to where we are and the altered course of history as we saw it. Allowing the Steam Man to be created in a world where it’s needed most. There’s just something mind blowingly awesome about what happens and what causes him to change the way he acts that you can’t help but appreciate and shake your head with the tsk tsk tsk sound.
How he went from one extreme to the other is chronicled very quickly without seeming to be cut too short or glossed over. It’s really rather fantastically portrayed. There’s plenty going on without being overcrowded or rushed it flows really nicely. Kudos on the adaptation here i’m really kind of impressed with how it’s being done.
Now that his back story is told I cannot wait to see how the present presents itself as he and his forces square off against the team of the Steam Man.
Engaging, surprising and all kinds of warped familiarity make this a gripping read that should be on your must have list!