REVIEW: Scout Comics’ Phantasmagoria #1

In a medium largely dominated by capes, cowls, and crime dramas, there’s at all times room for extra horror in comics. Released below Scout Comics’ Black Caravan imprint, Phantasmagoria #1 by author El Torres, artist Joe Bocardo, and letterer Juan Torres introduces readers to the spookiest facet of the Victorian period. With a smorgasbord of fiendish fodder and ghoulish guile, it is a e-book that is powerful to pin down upon first viewing.

The difficulty introduces the Victorian London setting, the possession of Jane Grantley, and the violent penalties of this unholy alliance. After the preliminary slaughter spree, she is saved by Professor Francis Hawke. The aged character is just like the Abraham Van Helsing of the story. He possesses infinite knowledge about these occasions and divulges the reality to Jane in regards to the evil entity that lived inside her. However, that is solely the beginning of the phobia, as the story unravels additional and the threads spiral outwards to generate extra questions and potentialities.

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Torres’ story components and premises aren’t totally distinctive right here; nonetheless, the mix of acquainted archetypes and the sequence of occasions is bound to pique horror followers’ curiosity. While there is a sure familiarity within the horror tropes utilized, such because the Captain Howdy spider-like actions and the creepy porcelain dolls, El Torres positively introduces some intriguing concepts. It’s nonetheless too early to inform what precisely is unfolding in Phantasmagoria, however the story does greater than sufficient to encourage the reader to select up the second difficulty to search out out extra.

Bocardo infuses the e-book with a timeless and haunting artwork model. The black-and-white method forces the artist to place extra emphasis and boldness on designs, which pays off for the reason that panels and scenes pop with an unbridled vivaciousness. Bocardo’s means of showcasing the evening’s fog, particularly, captivates the attention from the get-go. His model of the Victorian period is paying homage to the scenic photographs from Universal Studios’ legendary monster motion pictures, particularly Tod Browning’s Dracula, which transports the reader to a different period of horror.

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Without the colour, Torres’ lettering works even tougher, because the sudden spikes in speech design and particular results reel within the viewers. For instance, the opening web page of Phantasmagoria #1 showcases the aftermath of Jane’s bloodbath, with every panel revealing extra of the crime scene. Throughout this sequence, there’s just one fixed on the web page: the sound of “bong” from the clock that strikes 12 within the background. It’s one thing refined and inconspicuous, nevertheless it helps to set the temper and lure the reader into the grim environment of the e-book.

While Phantasmagoria #1 does not fly out of the gates with an prompt traditional feeling or a novel concept that can redefine the horror style, there are indications that it is a sluggish burner, and the reader must train somewhat persistence right here. For those that get pleasure from literary horror tales set within the Victorian period, it can strike a right away chord. For everybody else, the artwork alone makes this a e-book value testing.