Aftershock Comics 2015
Created & Written by Marguerite Bennett
Illustrated by Ariela Kristantina
Coloured by Bryan Valenza
Lettered by A Larger World
With each issue of this book that comes out I like more and more. It has that Victorian romance, horror/thriller vibe going on that makes us fall in love with the likes of Frankenstein or Jack the Ripper. That there’s a forbidden love affair, well for this age anyway, greedy family members who’ve lost all their money trying to steal what isn’t theirs and monsters galore and not just those that are fantastical. This series delves into things and blends them together in ways that just continue to prove so darn mysteriously intoxicating that once you get caught up in this world there’s no way to leave it.
A lot of why that is remains Ariela’s interior artwork and Bryan’s colouring. The tone, feel and look of it all brings you back to a time that easily romanticized and incredibly terrifying at the same time. Aside from the period dress much of the success goes to the way Ariela lays the pages out and her use of panels. That we can see imagery in between panels, think between their borders, being used to so effectively alongside seeing Lady transform herself and the creativity that entails well she’s really made quite an impression here.
Alright so that Mariah has passed on her monstrosity to the Lady and she’s unable to handle the effects of it herself is being handled so incredibly well. With a snoopy sister-in-law looking for any excuse to deny her her position the way this story is being told is fascinating. There’s so much to explore in the transformations and the spontaneity of them as well as her desire to use them to feed herself and exact her own brand of justice that psychologically speaking is both thrilling and scary as all get out.
I have to admit that watching the Lady try to find a doctor to help her has been fun to watch. After all in this day and age they were a rather archaic and dangerous lot. The knowledge of anatomy wasn’t great and their methods well suspect at best. So when she finds a doctor to examine her and what he says of her womb well I was amused. Though not by what happens during the examination or her reaction to it but by his analysis of a woman’s place in society. However a disposable doctor may be what she needs she’s going to have to find one familiar with her and Mariah’s condition and there has to be one out there. Not Victor Frankenstein per se but if these two have this condition they cannot be alone in the world there has to be someone who has the knowledge they need.
Mariah’s exchange with Countess Bertram and then when see the Countess last well i’m so very much enthralled by what’s going to become of her. Such a hypocritical woman obsessed with only herself and her station in life and holds anything else in low regard well we’ve known people like her. We see them all too often, the first to condemn and dig up dirt without realizing their own failings could have far more reaching consequences. Still her attempts at foibles for the women is a big part of her appeal in this story thus far.
Unlike anything else we’ve been seeing in comics this modern throwback to an era when horror and romance could go hand in hand makes me long for the days when people dressed up to leave the house and experienced life with others. Stellar writing, characterization and plot advancement wrapped up in this gorgeous visual style makes this series one of the brightest spots of 2016.