Boom! Studios 2019
Created & Written by Jeremy Haun
Illustrated by Danny Luckert
Lettered by Ed Dukeshire
Daisy struggles to find her boyfriend Luke after they were attacked - but as the visions from her prosthetic eye grow stronger, she's drawn further into the mystery of the Red Mother.
When I fist met Jeremy it was almost six years ago and I was so taken with his artistic skill and talent. Over the years we've manage to watch him grow and evolve as a storytelling and create some truly wonderful worlds, characters and has shown his writing is just as good as his artwork is. This one is so incredibly intriguing to me right off the bat. It has the familiar elements to it but that's really where anything familiar ends as it feels Jeremy is creating something that could rival Penny Dreadful in the scope of the strange. It is exciting to see something fresh, new and original and the more we get to see Daisy in action the more we begin to realise that her life, her world, and her experiences are unlike anything we could have hoped to expect them to be.
I love the way that this is being told. The opening here is pretty spot on as with what we should expect and whether or not it's the overactive imagination of Daisy dreaming or a real premonition or visitation remains to be seen. But right from the get go we see how Jeremy manages to engage the reader into the story by allowing their mind to go places off-script and try to put the pieces together themselves. Naturally this ensures that the reader is already invested in seeing how it things play out.
The story & plot development that we see here through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is laid down exceptionally well. As a matter of fact the way that we see how the order of events unfold here show something almost like a day in the life of, and this is something that allows to feel more a part of the story. The character development we see is phenomenal as we are getting that chance to really see Daisy be fleshed out more and more. Her time with her therapist for example is brilliantly handled in how she opens up but also in that it plants the seeds of doubt in the reader that this woman is in reality trying to help her or NOT. The pacing here is superb to see and as it takes us through the pages and reveals the twists and turns along the way help in the creation of the ebb & flow here.
Danny's work on the interiors here is so inspired. I love the linework he lays down and how he manages to utilise the varying weights to bring the attention to detail to the spotlight. The faces and facial expressions are bloody well brilliantly rendered and along with the body language helps further the characterisation in ways words along just cannot do. The creativity and imagination on display is gorgeous and I really love how we see moments like the meeting play out in the swirls of colour as the imagery feels so fluid. How we see the composition in the panels with how backgrounds are utilised to bring out the depth perception, scale and sense of size and scope to the story is perfectly done. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this strong and talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is breathtaking as well. To see the various hues and tones in the colours to show shading, highlights and shadow work is rendered perfectly. Then the reds are a whole new level of wow as is the smiling man. There really is this whole new level and quality to the work we are seeing here that should be admired.
The way that this book is able to evoke emotions and feelings of tension and inevitability to keep you on edge is mindbogglingly well conceived and executed. This is something in the making and while the horror elements are what hook you it's the mystery and intrigue factors that engage your minds in ways that you'll never forget.