Zenescope Entertainment 2017
Written by Anne Toole
Illustrated by Marc Rosete, Eduardo Garcia Renzo Rodriguez & Joe Sachez Diaz
Coloured by Ceci De La Cruz, Slamet Mujiono, Fran Gamboa, Aloex Marmontel
& Walter Pereyra
Lettered by Fabio Amelia
Finally a story worthy of a Halloween special! This was fantastic for me I loved the way the story was structured and how everything unfolded. It was a smartly written book that was able to weave each feature into one cohesive story. It doesn’t hurt that I love Mary, her power set and the fact that she’s constantly looking for something elusive that she actually ran away from. She’s a complicated young woman with trust issues and yet we can so easily relate to her extremely well and with what Anne does with her here well she understands Mary extremely well.
Talisman has taken off to misdirect the Tarot from Mary’s location leaving her alone in the hotel room. Now this is New Orleans where people are going to try to get you to spend your money on them whether that be in shoppes or tours or whatsoever so when a flyer comes under the door to the room it’s right up Mary’s alley and it’s free. So naturally she goes on this free ghost tour which is led by one of those seemingly always perky with blonde hair and that cheerleader attitude.
One of the things I liked about this is the fact that no time is wasted in getting things started. As soon as the group gets to a location Mary is thrust into the past and immersed in the murder of someone who died at that location. It’s a great way to tie the story together and keep it fresh and interesting at each stop while also setting up a nifty little mystery. Yeah this is what we like to see in comics and as an added bonus it FEELS like something that we don’t normally see at Zenescope so my whole moving forward is right here on display and utterly fabulous.
While each segment has it’s own set of artists it doesn’t feel like that they all blend together extremely well. I’m not sure I’d have been able to tell the difference if I hadn’t read the credits and that alone is phenomenal. The use of page layouts throughout is fantastic all the angles and perspectives we see heighten the reading experience. With the exception of the theatre the utilisation of backgrounds pleased me to no end, they really do wonders in expanding the story by letting us see what the characters do. Kudos to everyone involved in bringing this to life it’s a job very well done indeed.
I feel like each of these vignettes could have been a full length story all it’s own but that Anne manages to wrap it all up nice and neat for us in this short amount of page count speaks volumes of her talent and ability. I’m actually very surprised that this isn’t an oversized special to tell the entire story. This is very Mary and the fact that her character and characterisation are continually developed every step of the way here is fantastic to see. That it seems she is finally coming into her own, warts and all, is long overdue in my humble opinion. Her time at Arcane Acres started her introduction to the world but it’s stories like this that really, truly plant her as one to watch. Her uniqueness as not only a character but a young woman could easily vault her into the Robyn Hood status among reader’s if given the chance.
If you are looking for Halloween fun then look no further this is what you’ve been waiting for!