Dark Horse Comics 2019
Written & Illustrated by John Allison
Coloured by Sarah Stern
Lettered by Jim Campbell
A supernatural tale of friendship, the devil, and moral gray areas. Two women with wildly different worldviews become unlikely friends as they navigate the supernatural happenings in a sleepy coastal parish—and soon find themselves forced to choose sides in the war between good and evil, facing demons, curses, and a miniature Rapture!
When I read this I came into blind. It was a first issue and it's looked and seemed like it would be interesting. I know John did Giant Days and that was extremely well done, received and critically acclaimed so with that it was an easy enough decision to read this. Okay so this is so much better and more surprising than I could have hoped for. There are times when you say okay this is one I want to read, then you do and it surprises the hell out of you with just how good it is and just how much fun you have reading it and as soon as it ends you want more. This is one of those times.
The way that this is being told is sensational! The story & plot development alongside the character development that is being developed here through the information that we get and the twists and turns that we see really make this as fun as it is. Then when the pacing picks all this up to move it continuously forward it creates this ebb & flow that keeps us antsy and intrigued all at the same time. This is why I am loving what John is doing with the writing and I find myself intrigued as well by whom we meet and what the represent. What those are you'll have to read the book to find out but you'll thank me later and I'll take that to the bank.
The opening here is fantastic! This is where we meet Mrs. Clovis an Reverend Penrose and I'm not going to lie seeing the Reverend in bed and that ginger hair with the mop of white (grey) well honestly I want to help him with and crawl in next to him. So what he's doing and what is happening in this town is only mentioned in circumvent so it's really leads the reader and makes you wonder and by the way it engages the readers' mind and imagination in some beautiful ways.
The interiors here are superbly done. I love the all-ages aspect of what we are seeing here. The linework is great and there is some really nice utilisation in the varying weights that create the attention to detail. I am truly impressed with how we see all these different people and the different body types that are within these pages. Also there is a lot of great moments that we see where the composition in the panels shows us more about this area than any kind of description could and gives the town, the area a personality and a character in it's own right. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a wonderful eye for storytelling. The colour work is fantastic as well. Even though I don't see a lot of colour blocking or gradation or even the variation of hues and tones it still has utterly delightful appearance.
I love the way the characters are being introduced here. There is a superb and natural feel to how things move and progress and how Billie manages to get into her new home. Plus she's made a friend along the way and the prospect of their friendship, or potential relationship just adds the fuel to the fire in the readers' mind and imagination. The way that we are engaged and become invested in this book really showcases how good of a storytelling John is. This is charming, captivating and full of surprises that once it gets you there's no escape.