Dynamite Entertainment 2021
Written by David Avallone
Illustrated by Juan Samu
Coloured by Walter Pereyra
Lettered by Taylor Esposito & Elizabeth Sharland
Elvira and the Ghost of Vincent Price continue their quest to find a lost cult movie… AND save the world from the wrath of an awakened Egyptian god. Their journey takes them to the crumbling country estate of a reclusive film director and his movie-star bride, but things go all Dr. Phibes before you can say House of Usher! Come for the sexy horror, stay for the terrible puns and movie trivia!
This blends the kitschy with the seriousness in a perfect way. There was a time when Vincent was a serious actor and later in life he got into the silliness that is Elvira’s world and honestly I am super impressed with how we see these aspects coming into play. Plus we get to see the streetwise Elvira that continues to flesh her out into something a lot more than just her typical persona. It is the new buddy dramedy that’s sweeping the world as we speak.
I love the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter really makes them come to life beautifully. How we see their personalities shining through really makes them both easily recognisable as well as comfortably familiar. It is just that extra added element to the story that showcases David’s attention to detail in what he’s writing here. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we’re drawn more into the whole cinematic experience that the story takes on.
The way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen is exceptionally well rendered. That the layers open up new avenues and new moments that may or may not be explored add such great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably achieved.
I am positively in love with the interiors here. The linework is clean, crisp and strong and when you add in the varying weights and techniques to the mix to create this level and quality to the detail we see within the work and the interiors become extraordinary. Backgrounds are utilised pretty well, we could always see more, as they enhance and expand the moments beautifully. They also work extremely well within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. We see some gorgeous creativity and imagination happening here and that centres around Vincent because of his ability to change his ghostly appearance and it really helps immensely in portraying the unusual elements. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows an utterly brilliant eye for how colour works and how to apply it to get their maximum effect.
This globetrotting adventure is just getting underway and it’s really starting to find its groove. There is a clear cut mission here and how it ties into the first issue's events with Elvira wasn’t what I was expecting to see but I welcome that and the fact that I never saw it coming. That I am this engaged and invested in the story so quickly is thanks to the talent, skill and verve that the creators bring. With some smart intelligent writing and sassy characterisation alongside these gorgeous interiors really make this a phenomenal book.