Dark Horse Comics 2019
Written by Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden
Illustrated by Peter Bergting
Coloured by Michelle Madsen
Lettered by Clem Robins
While the Golem battles a roiling mass of gas-men, Dr. Cocteau unleashes the power of the Pentajulum. It's up to Molly to stop Dr. Cocteau from wreaking any more havoc—but will it be enough to save Felix from his transformation, or will a force from the Outer Dark reach him first?
This is one of the best series I have ever read and the proof for me in saying this is that when I see that it's coming out I get excited, nervous and that tad bit of anxiety of what is going to happen to our lead character. All it takes is one arc for you to become an instant fan and it doesn't hurt that each arc can stand alone as well as be part of the larger whole that is the franchise. That the guys really do some of their best work here and when you see the creators passion come through on the pages this causes you to feel that passion as well and the osmosis of this is amazing.
The way that this is structured is astoundingly good. The story & plot development along with the character development and how they are essential to one another in conveying what we as the reader needs to see and thanks to the pacing that constantly moves everything forward. It is my humble opinion that this is the most underrated and least well known franchise to come out of Dark Horse and yet every single time an arc or an issue comes out the work is so far above the bar set in comics.
So with the death of Simon Church Joe and Molly's lives will change and that has yet to come to light for them as Dr. Cocteau's mad scheme is still underway. There is something about the way that this is told so that even in the midst of the action, and in some cases pure destruction, we still see some dynamite characterisation. Even then that characterisation is so essential to what happens within the story and I am in complete awe of the talent and skill on display here by these two fine gentlemen. If any kind of proof was needed it's seeing Felix reacting the way he does.
The interiors here are pretty damn spectacular as well. Somehow or another Peter and Michelle are able to make this seem abstract and stylised while maintaining this stupendous attention to detail. The creativity and imagination that we see here is utterly marvellous and how we see the composition inside the panels is bloody genius work. Whether some moments are meant to creep us out or not it happens and how the work sets and maintains the tone, mood and feel of the story is spectacular. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a truly gifted eye for storytelling. The colour work is beautifully done and how we see all these hues and tones to create shading, high lights and low lights is remarkably well done. The utilisation of light sources and that consistency we see is impressive.
The whole story has this really weird, powerful and has this presence about it that you cannot avoid or deny and it just seeps into your soul and makes you wonder if this is the end or if there will be more. The way the story unfolds and how we see revelations and information coming to us it is just something that we cannot get enough of. We see through the writing the identity struggle happening here and we see Molly and her faith and belief in her friends and it's inspiring. This really is one of the best all around books that I have had the pleasure to read over the years. For me it's right up there with Grendel, Mage and Sandman Mystery Theatre so take my opinion for what you will but this is something you should be reading.