A Dark Interlude #2

A Dark Interlude #2

Vault Comics 2020

Written by Ryan O’Sullivan

Illustrated by Andrea Mutti

Coloured by Vladimir Popov

Lettered by Andworld Design

What happens in Issue #2? The plot continues. What else should I say? Why has my "publisher" asked me to pen the marketing copy for my own brilliance when there are perfectly good copywriters who... [Message truncated at the request of Vault Comics]

There is something so magical about the dark as it captures the imagination, holds your interest and makes you want to explore it even if it is the thing you fear the most. Yet we are willing to fight for it and even die for it and once it’s found and it’s beyond your comprehension you run from it. Try to hide from it and do anything you can to avoid going to back but it’s an addiction and addictions are too hard to break. So you peek in and put a toe in to feel around it is something you cannot resist. Madness and genius are often the opposite sides of the same coin and it seems you cannot have one without the other and that’s why they need the scribe and why even though he thought himself a failure Henry Henry is needed.

The way this is being told is utterly brilliant. I mean if my opening paragraph is that then you know how deeply the story has touched a part ome and how I think and perceive things. The story & plot development that we see here through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is really quite bloody fantastic. The character development is amazing and to have this kind of depth presented about, by and from these characters through their words and actions is simply stupendous. The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through these pages revealing the twists & turns along the way takes us to places we never expected to go. Considering what this book is and about well that’s saying something.

The way we see this being structured and and how the layers within the story keep moving and emerging in new and different ways really keep the sway of the story moving like a winding river. How everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow is pretty darn spectacular to see.

The interiors here are sublime. Whether it is the creativity and imagination that we see it is that realm or our realm, I mean have you really looked at Jill’s paintings?, what we see is so crazy good it’s unreal. The linework is gorgeous and how it is utilised to create the detail work is really spectacular to see. I’d like to see more backgrounds utilised in our world segments but what we get is stupendous stuff and that hospital feels so big making you feel alone is eerie and creepy and wonderful all at once. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkable eye for storytelling. The colour work is divine as well and how we see the choices feels inspired. The way we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows such a talented eye for colour and how to make it work.

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Henry Henry may no longer be the storyteller they need but he is the current storyteller and his lie impacts so many whether they want it to or not. There is such a beautiful complexity to the story and how we see hidden agendas and machinations working behind the scenes makes this as much fun as the classic Dynasty series. Sigh so much goodness, so much thought provoking storytelling and by George I think Ryan’s got it!