You Promised Me Darkness #5

You Promised Me Darkness #5

Behemoth Entertainment 2021

By Damian Connelly

Lettered by Anabella Mazzaferri

The two-issue finale of the first arc. Part two: The end. Tired of running, Yuko and Sebastian decide to face the Anti-everything and set out to find him. The villain has gathered great amounts of energy by now and his loyal followers rally to meet him at father Kinkaid’s old church, in the middle of the woods, to prepare an attack on Kolosimo.

I’ve said that throughout this first arc that I have no idea what’s really going on here but that’s not entirely true. It has been a very good, strong story of good versus evil where those lines get blurred but the fate of the world does hang in the balance. Can the heroes stop the darkness from engulfing the world thus ending life as we know it? I dunno but it’s been one hell of an interesting ride since day one. I think that a huge part of the enjoyment of this story has also been the interiors and because Damian does the writing and the artwork means that what we see is exactly what he intends for us to see to compliment the writing. So what we see is what is intended to be seen for the maximum effect intended.

I am in love with the way that this is being told. The story & plot development 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 dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter. This brings their personalities to the forefront and shows us who they are and it’s extremely well done. The pacing is great and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story keeps us in anticipation with bated breath.

How we see this being structured and how the layers continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. What I love about these layers is how we see them open up and either explored or not they add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see the events unfold and the effect they have on the story is sensational to see. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved exceptionally well.

The interiors here are completely and utterly bloody phenomenal. How we see this exquisite linework with its varying weights and techniques being utilsied throughout the book to create this sheer level & quality of detail in the work we see take a few steps beyond extraordinary. How we see the composition within the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. With the nature of the book and the artwork we don’t really see backgrounds and to be honest I’m perfectly okay with that which is unusual for me to say. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a beautiful eye for storytelling. That this is all in black & white and how we see this kind of bold style mixed with something akin to etching it makes everything seem so amazing. There is just a very unique mix to the work we see and it’s dynamic and keeps your eye constantly moving around the page.

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You have to think about what it is you are reading with this one. Yes it is dark and creepy and out there but it’s also so smartly written with intelligent characterisation and some seriously dynamic interior artwork. I love a cerebral story and this one fits that bill in this nearly pure way but it isn’t heady and you can follow along easily enough if you are paying attention. Look I am such a fan of smaller press companies that’s no secret and it’s because they do this amazing job in showcasing otherwise unknown talent a chance to shine. Don’t do yourself a disservice and sleep on this one because it’s really one of those sleeper hits that just needs you to give it a chance.