Aftershock Comics 2015
Created & Written by Marguerite Bennett
Illustrated by Ariela Kristantina
Coloured by Bryan Valenza
Lettered by A Larger World
Oh My Gosh I seriously cannot tell you just how beautiful, sensual and downright thrilling this series is. After i’m done reading each issue I sit back and simply marvel at what I’ve just experienced. I’m constantly amazed at each new revelation, how tender and loving these two women are with one another and the kind of horror Marguerite is able to bring to all this. The first issue really was simply amazing and it hasn’t slowed down one iota since.
So last issue ended with William showing up saying that the police had found the London Butcher who is also the man claiming to have murdered Lady Lalita Bertram’s husband. That’s where we pick up and I gotta say what Marguerite has done here both shocked and thrilled me. No sooner had the door to the carriage closed than the first bombshell of the issue is released. This is the kind of writing and characterization that makes her one of the finest writers i’m currently pleased to be reading.
When the pair get to the prison where the London Butcher has been kept the scene is simply something you cannot be prepared for. Ariela does something amazing here as so far everything has had this almost ethereal quality to it and now she gets to flex her creative darker side and I gotta say what a complete shocker moment from her and Bryan. I’m sorry if this is a spoiler, though we’ve seen this before, but the sex scene between Mariah and Lalita was so borderline XXX and incredibly erotic, provocative and left me as a gay man slightly turned on. I mean holy mother of pearl bailey.
As the girls do there thing we get introduced to another character that keeps stretching the supernatural beings in this world expanding. The contrast between sweet and innocent vision and the alter ego just keeps things so mesmerizing. That meeting also reveals the next huge bombshell on us. We kind of got the gist of this reveal earlier but now that it’s been confirmed it really does add this aspect to the story that just almost defies description. That this story can take place in an age and time that has so much mystery and romance associated with it while still being thought of as cold and harsh comes across through these characters in ways that make you long to visit it.
The quality of what is being read and seen on these pages confirms for that print is not going anywhere because it’s holding this in your hand that sends chills down the spine. From the way the story is woven throughout keeping you guessing at what’s coming, introducing new threats and new allies to the tenderness of an old time love story it’s meant to be held. Then there’s the interiors that keep the story moving with the pages, panels and attention to detail with a double page spread that showcases every aspect of talent in the entire issue.