IDW Publishing 2017
Written by Steve Niles
Illustrated by Piotr Kowalski
Coloured by Brad Simpson
Lettered by Tom B. Long
The sun has set, and with the darkness comes trouble! Somebody has destroyed all the phones in Barrow and disabled the snow machines, trapping residents in town. Is it the mysterious stranger that Stella has taken into police custody on suspicion of killing her husband, Eben, or is there something worse lurking in the dark of the woods?
Well it would seem that this time around Steve is really not only changing things up but he’s doing it in ways that are thrilling to see. Focusing on Stella instead of Eben was one way to go but that she has a different mind and skill set not to mention perspective on things well it’s just fascinating to see unfold. I do like that the big guy in the jail is being portrayed this way because he’s much scarier and menacing than you’d expect and from all we see here he’s instrumental in creating this atmosphere to be what it needs to be.
The way Steve structures this story is phenomenally well done but that is not a surprise considering he’s a modern master of the macabre. So the way we see certain events unfold shows a very nicely calculated attack from the shadows. Regardless that this is Barrow Alaska where night will last 30 Days the intelligence in the decision making in this book is remarkably strong. What I see happening here could happen anywhere in the world that’s isolated or remote enough I mean heck I wouldn’t put these tactics against a town or village in the middle of the U.S..
Sometimes we forget just how much thought and planning has to go into a story to not only make it viable and believable. It takes a certain kind of genius to be able to come up with something so deadly efficient and scary it’s the kind of stuff think tanks are built around to ensure homeland safety. So perhaps people should more afraid of the men and women in this industry who prove time and time again that they can up with ways to take out their enemies without having to resort to drastic measures, see invasion or weapons of mass destruction.
I am a fan of Piotr’s and I have been since the first time I have seen his work. I love the attention to detail that he brings to the page and along with the weight of the linework here make this remarkable. His use of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show his eye for storytelling is as strong as ever. Even the utilisation of backgrounds here that expand the scope of the story brilliantly.
With each issue that comes out and yes I’m aware it’s only issue three, but I’ve been impressed with the fact that only the names remain the same. There is tension and anxiety attached to the book that having been familiar with the story is surprisingly good. It doesn’t matter that knew what was because this really is a brand new entity and the fact that it is capable of standing on it’s own two feet. There is something here that is extremely exhilarating and it is so nice to see that something old can be new again.
The story structure, plot development and characterisation here is why we follow creators and franchises because of the way they make us feel.