Penny Dreadful #2Review by Paul Fiander
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Story: Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Andrew Hinderaker & Chris King
Script: Krytsy Wilson-Cairns Artist: Louie De Martinis Published by Titan Comics |
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The issue or trade debate is one that has gripped comics for years and I don’t think will ever have a true winner. There are plus and minuses on both sides of the divide, one big tick on the singles side has to be the addition of back matter. From essays by creators to additional and concept art, the end of an issue can be a wonderful insight into the creation of the comic narrative. Penny Dreadful #2 though takes this into a different direction by its amalgamation with the TV series that the comic has spawned from.
The back matter is a piece about the creation of the shows Vampires. When the show was being created the was a vision of what the Vampires should look like. With the huge proliferation of the the creatures in mainstream media the desire to craft something memorable was important to give the show a menacing evil for the “heroes” to face. The essay breaks down the process from original ideas to character casting and is a great insight into the entire endeavour. This behind the scenes work obviously leads into the artwork by Louie De Martinis, as he depicts the shows creatures with his own personal twist. This adds a uniqueness to the design and when you adding the obscure colouring it makes this issue a compelling read. The story sees Sir Malcolm meeting his son in law Jonathan Harker for the first time in years, the reason for this meeting is the disappearance of his daughter Mina (This is one of the things I love about Penny Dreadful the use of iconic literary figures in a new and intriguing way). The meeting is rather strained and we get to see the events in a rather intriguing way. Although there is quite a bit of dialogue there is still a great action sequence involving the undead and a rather tasty looking six shooter wielded by a Texan. The main aim of the issue is to teach us more about the background of the aloof Sir Malcolm and his relationship with his daughter and by association Vanessa. In this the issue does a great job as I can not wait to find out more. There is no way I can answer the trade/single debate but to my mind Titan Comics further muddy the debate by creating high quality physical issues along with their trades. One thing is for sure though is Penny Dreadful is shaping up to be as compelling a comic as it is a TV show. |
Preview Pages and Variant Covers
