The Secret Land #4

The Secret Land #4

Dark Horse Comics 2021

Written by Christofer Emgård

Illustrated by Tomás Aira

Lettered by Mauro Mantella

To the powers the Nazis have unleashed, humanity is a petty thing. But must it be? As war engulfs the edge of the world, Ben and Katherine confront the truth about the boundaries of love, and what lies beyond them.

This is a weird little book and I’m still not sure what kind of dimension that portal leads to but it certainly seems like one where a demon reigns supreme. The power we see at this beings disposal and what it has done to the denizens of Base 211 well it’s obvious these are forces that the Nazi’s could never truly hope to harness though in their arrogance they did think nothing was beneath them, certainly not defeat. The Professor and his story was both interesting and inevitable as we’ve seen when he was first shown, he plays his part for both good and ill, well he did create the thing and it should be he who helps destroy it right? Overall though this is a love story, it’s Katherine and Ben’s love story and there’s always a price to pay for love, freedom and any other myriad of maladies but will the price be too steep and will the lovers even have a chance to see one another again?

I am a fan of the way that this is being told. The story & lot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally 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 does wonders in showcasing how their personalities constantly evolve throughout the story. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we are taken on a journey through some of the darkest depth of the human soul.

I greatly appreciate the way that this is being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. The avenues that continue to open up are there right up through the last page and the kind of depth, dimension and complexity they add to the story is marvellous. The way we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is immaculately achieved.

I am a huge fan of the interiors here and with the creativity and imagination that we see on display throughout the book. The nightmares, or at least the stuff of, come to life exceptionally well and how we see the effects on people well that’s just another level of creepy and gross. The linework is exquisitely laid down and with the varying weights and techniques being utilised we get to see some spectacular attention to detail here. 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 shows an excellent eye for how colour works.

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The dynamic within this book between its characters has been done in a way that uneasy alliances crumble and hatred flares but you never know where this is going to come from and what it’s going to cause. The cause and effect is left up to the portal, device or doorway whichever you consider it to be and this keeps the reader on their toes exceedingly well. With such strong, fascinating writing, the intense characterisation and these stunning interiors really make this into something unexpected.