Belle in Headless Horseman

Belle in Headless Horseman

Zenescope Entertainment 2021

Written by Dave Franchini

Illustrated by Julius Abrera

Coloured by Juan Manuel Rodriguez

Lettered by Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios

From stories that span centuries, the Headless Horseman has roamed woods and battlefields seeking the lives of those who have strayed from the fight taking that, which he no longer has, their heads. As some legends are made, others are born, and Anabelle “Belle” DiMarco happens to be so lucky. Descended from a bloodline of hunters of beasts and otherworldly creatures, she is destined to take on those that creep from the shadows, reaching into our world waiting for a hero to battle them back. So what happens when a beast hunter meets a horseman? Find out here when legends collide!

As much as I enjoy seeing these one-shots, we really need to see some limited series already. This one and done just don’t allow for the room for the story, characterisation and world building to really take place, instead we get snippets that do nothing more than wet the appetite without doing a whole heck of a lot. Also 32 pages is nothing why advertise that, sure 48 to 72 pages would be much better and allow for more story and background information to be shown.

With all this having been said I do like the way Dave is telling this story. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented extremely well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter help to bring their personalities to the forefront. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story and the cast of characters the more I am left wanting.

How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge and grow are well thought out and executed. The trio of witches whom we’ve seen before, though even I have a hard time recalling the exact story, keep us guessing when we’ll see them again. The depth, dimension and complexity these avenues add to the story is fantastic. The way that we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is extremely well achieved.

The interiors here are really rather lovely. The linework that we see is fantastic and how the varying weights and techniques are being utilised to create the level & quality of the detail work we see within the pages is astonishing. That we see backgrounds being utilised throughout makes me a happy camper as they really enhance and expand the moments. They also work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a spectacular eye for how colour works and how to maximise their effects.

​

I do like the concept behind this story and how we see it come to life. The legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Headless Horseman is one that’s been around longer than I have and to see Belle getting to face such a supernatural creature is actually pretty darn thrilling. There are a finite amount of new monsters to be faced so by seeing some other fables, fairy tales or even myths & legends being explored in these pages makes complete sense. Though I am waiting for Peyton, The Black Knight, to become something of an Oracle for Belle as well and seeing how the characters expand and become more interconnected. In the meantime so long as Dave has stories to tell I'll be here.