Devil Within #2
Black Mask Studios 2018
Written by Stephanie Phillips
Illustrated by Maan House
Coloured by Dee Cunniffe
Lettered by Troy Peteri
While Samantha and Michelle thought their only concern for the weekend would be unpacking and planning their wedding, they find the contents of their kitchen trashed and reflections moving seemingly of their own volition. Once Michelle begins speaking in riddles and spitting blood, it appears that possible paranormal activity is at work in their new home.
I was honestly harsh on the first issue and I will be the first one to admit that but that is how I felt and I am not going to apologise for it. It is also the reason why I wanted to read the second issue to see if it was indeed better than the first. Sometimes when we see things one way it helps to try again and had this been the first issue I think it might have been more successful. I love the idea of Michelle and Samantha running around to churches being rejected by Priests left and right. There is something extremely believable about Priests discounting someone’s belief’s in being possessed outright instead of instantly believing them.
I like the way that this one is structured there is a much better flow to what we see here as the women go about their journey. From the opening through to the ending I found myself immensely enjoying the way this was being told. For instance this last of the Mananambal in Cebu who is akin to let’s say medicine woman, voodoo priestess or witch doctor is someone I do desperately hope we will be seeing again. Her entrance and her words do kind of lead the reader to think in certain directions and it will be interesting to see if that’s indeed where the story is headed or if Stephanie can surprise with the direction it will take instead.
While some transitions still seem a little too sudden I do like the characterisation that we are getting here. The role reversal that I am seeing now that Samantha is more on the receiving end of things this issue is rather nice to see. A non-believer and trying to explain away everything she has seen going on is getting harder and harder for her to do but she’s still trying. When the realisation finally sinks in I cannot wait to see what happens next or if it’ll be too late! Honestly I think being too late might be exactly the case already but we’ll see.
The interiors here have some very nice attention to detail and some very strong linework. The varying weights are utilised well and there are some stunning moments that we get to see, the girls walking into that hut for one, usually those also include how backgrounds are also utilised. I still think there are too many panels where the backgrounds are blank and having established otherwise previously is a bit disappointing. The old woman is sensational and that backyard scene sigh is amazingly good. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a solid eye for storytelling. The colours here are utterly gorgeous to see and they really do wonders with the overall mood, tone and feel of what we see.
Well the second act is much better than the first and if this continues this way with each successive issue I look forward to see that. This resembles nothing like the first issue and everything that I thought was happening well it’s all come in suspect really and I think I like the way this is heading from here. I hope my predictions isn’t right and that Stephanie proves me wrong then I will be even more excited. This is a much stronger issue and the potential for growth is unlimited.
Black Mask Studios 2018
Written by Stephanie Phillips
Illustrated by Maan House
Coloured by Dee Cunniffe
Lettered by Troy Peteri
While Samantha and Michelle thought their only concern for the weekend would be unpacking and planning their wedding, they find the contents of their kitchen trashed and reflections moving seemingly of their own volition. Once Michelle begins speaking in riddles and spitting blood, it appears that possible paranormal activity is at work in their new home.
I was honestly harsh on the first issue and I will be the first one to admit that but that is how I felt and I am not going to apologise for it. It is also the reason why I wanted to read the second issue to see if it was indeed better than the first. Sometimes when we see things one way it helps to try again and had this been the first issue I think it might have been more successful. I love the idea of Michelle and Samantha running around to churches being rejected by Priests left and right. There is something extremely believable about Priests discounting someone’s belief’s in being possessed outright instead of instantly believing them.
I like the way that this one is structured there is a much better flow to what we see here as the women go about their journey. From the opening through to the ending I found myself immensely enjoying the way this was being told. For instance this last of the Mananambal in Cebu who is akin to let’s say medicine woman, voodoo priestess or witch doctor is someone I do desperately hope we will be seeing again. Her entrance and her words do kind of lead the reader to think in certain directions and it will be interesting to see if that’s indeed where the story is headed or if Stephanie can surprise with the direction it will take instead.
While some transitions still seem a little too sudden I do like the characterisation that we are getting here. The role reversal that I am seeing now that Samantha is more on the receiving end of things this issue is rather nice to see. A non-believer and trying to explain away everything she has seen going on is getting harder and harder for her to do but she’s still trying. When the realisation finally sinks in I cannot wait to see what happens next or if it’ll be too late! Honestly I think being too late might be exactly the case already but we’ll see.
The interiors here have some very nice attention to detail and some very strong linework. The varying weights are utilised well and there are some stunning moments that we get to see, the girls walking into that hut for one, usually those also include how backgrounds are also utilised. I still think there are too many panels where the backgrounds are blank and having established otherwise previously is a bit disappointing. The old woman is sensational and that backyard scene sigh is amazingly good. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a solid eye for storytelling. The colours here are utterly gorgeous to see and they really do wonders with the overall mood, tone and feel of what we see.
Well the second act is much better than the first and if this continues this way with each successive issue I look forward to see that. This resembles nothing like the first issue and everything that I thought was happening well it’s all come in suspect really and I think I like the way this is heading from here. I hope my predictions isn’t right and that Stephanie proves me wrong then I will be even more excited. This is a much stronger issue and the potential for growth is unlimited.
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