Image Comics 2016
Written by Ed Brubaker
Illustrated by Sean Phillips
Coloured by Elizabeth Breitweiser
As our hero is drawn deeper into the shadows, his secret vigilante life begins to put everything he cares about in danger.
I like that Dylan still keeps questioning what he’s doing and if this demon he made a deal with is even real. That he tries to live his normal life, including his complicated relationship with his best friend who he’s in love with only strengthens the characterisation Ed brings to this. It’s hard not to like Dylan as he acts and behaves a lot like anyone of us would.
It’s kind of funny that Dylan kept checking the news for signs that the man he killed was guilty. Fearing that he killed someone for no reason or some hallucination was kind of driving him towards the edge and while he’s trying to keep it together he’s got a lot on his plate to deal with. Kira is a woman who doesn’t know who she wants to be and even with her therapists help she’s an emotional wreck who only seems to be herself around Dylan.
The background information Ed brings this issue on her and seeing how the two of them are throughout normal daily life well it really goes a long way in showcasing both characters personalities. There’s so much story going on here and it’s great. The way a page can be written so that the dialogue/narration comes on the side with just one image on the other like we’re in some sort of novel. It’s a very effective tool to have in this series. It somehow elevates the series and makes it seem more literary at times and while these two have never had a problem putting out complex story driven books it just feels different here.
Sean’s interiors are simply superb. Kira a fiery redhead stands out in a crown while Dylan with his nondescript brown hair and non-distinguishing features blends in like an everyman and the contrast is great. It’s so in tune with his character, personality and the way he sees life that though he’s changing it’ll be interesting to see if Sean’s interpretation of how Dylan sees himself changes alongside it. The attention to detail and the flow of the book through page layouts, angles, perspective and backgrounds really do so much to tell the complete story. You get the bigger picture the emotions, tone, mood and feel of what’s going on here so fully. Though to be fair I was a little sad we saw a lot of women and so few men in that one scene.
Sometimes it seems like a story can take on a life of it’s own where the writer is just there to put down what the characters see, do and experience on paper for us. This may be one of those or it’s just that Ed has immersed himself so fully into this world and these characters that they feel like we know them.
As Dylan struggles to balance his personal life and the life of the man he’s becoming it’s going to get a lot more complicated as he the time comes where he has to kill again. This is a gripping look at how one instance can change your life whether it’s really a demon or all in his head that’s up to you to decide.