Dark Horse Comics 2018
Written by Jeff Lemire
Illustrated by Dean Ormston
Coloured by Dave Stewart
Lettered by Todd Klein
Picking up immediately where we left off--Lucy Weber has become the new Black Hammer and right as she's about to reveal to our heroes how they got stuck on the farm and can escape she vanishes. Now our new Black Hammer finds herself trapped in a gritty world filled with punk rock detectives, emo gods, anthropomorphic humans, absurdist heroes, and many more weirdoes, in a mad world in which there is no escape!
I like this I mean Lucy has been such a delight since her introduction and to start off the issue the way Jeff did was absolutely stunning! This started off as some offbeat version of a classic superhero line-up that somehow some way became so much better than any team book on stands today. Dark Horse struck gold with this one allowing Jeff and company to run wild with the stories so that this is the water cooler talk of the industry.
This issue beautifully sums up why this series is tops on my list. Col. Weird puts it really succinctly and makes you wonder how he knows what he does. There are still so many things that need exploring like why Madame D. made Lucy forget everything? It always seems like at least one of them is hiding some shady secret and it almost feels Dynasty like and that’s one of the great appeals of this series. Everyone of them has this dark shady aspect that seems to contradict their efforts to leave this place. So when someone finally realises the whole truth well you know it’s not that easy, just ask Gilligan.
Now that Lucy has found her own superhero identity, which I was wondering when that would happen and been well whisked away shall we say and she’s getting a new direction I cannot wait to see where this is going. This has me so excited for what’s to come and to feel that regularly from these creators and these characters is in essence what comics should be about. Something to look forward to and be excited, genuinely excited by the thought of getting to the store on new comics Wednesday to pick this up.
What to say about Dean and the work that he’s doing here that hasn’t already been said. The man is pretty much a genius he’s mastered the art of visual storytelling and we see that in how he utilises page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels. Backgrounds, shading and facial expressions are flawlessly done. It gives off this vibe to it that says classic comics but in the House of Secrets manner which should be contradictory but the way we see it is simply the best way to have this be seen.
There is a part of me that hopes one day they all will be able to return to their reality sure but I don’t want that to happen anytime soon. This microcosm of a world that Jeff has created and put them in for whatever reason is one of the absolute best case scenarios that could ever have happened. There is a real brilliance in what we see with every issue of every Black Hammer related book. Sometimes subtle sometimes over the top and always with a clear sense of direction that only Jeff can see but we trust enough to blindly follow along waiting.
Simply put this is why people make, read and covet comics for their love escapism.