Comic-books are a medium, not a genre; they can tell any story and suit any palate. You want horror? I've got bottles of the stuff. Welcome to 'Splashes of Darkness.' SPLASHES OF DARKNESS: Who on Earth was Thaddeus Mist? (COMIC REVIEW BY DION WINTON-POLAK)  You won’t find this kind of thing in a regular bar, nor written up in some Buzzfeed article on trending cocktails. It’s more of an artisanal thing. You either know it or you miss out. Fortunately for you, I know people in the know. Don’t be shy now; I haven’t let you down yet, have I? It’s a fine blend. Just takes a little time to get used to, is all. The base is gothic romance, and there are undertones of pulp adventure, murder mystery, some strains of raw horror and…well…something quite poetic. Different folks get different kinds of kicks from it, but it all comes together just beautifully. Here, take a snifter. Thaddeus Mist is truly a name to conjure with, redolent with authority and an atmosphere of mystery. Independent publisher Accent UK have outdone themselves with this anthology of stories, spinning a web of intrigue across a multitude of written and artistic styles to tackle the deceptively simple question posed by the title. As his friends and relations come together for his funeral, we begin to hear bizarre tales of the man, revealing him to be something of an adventurer: a stage magician; detective; lover; artist; and wild raconteur. Pulled together, they form a tapestry of contradictions and skewed perspectives, full of anger, horror and rose-tinted grief. Griselda Mist is determined at last to understand the enigma that was her husband. The truth lurks there, somewhere between memory and perception, outrage and deception. She will hunt it out. I wasn’t, I confess, particularly attracted by the cover of this book. It seemed altogether too darksome and difficult to decipher. When first flicking through the pages, I found the mish-mash of artistic styles jarring, and the monochromatic inks a bit of a depressing sight. Ordinarily, I would not have looked further, but the man who pressed it into my hands is a salesman born. His name is Conor Boyle, and I’ve been acquainted with him for a few years now. He’s a shrewd fellow, with a strong sense of artistic integrity and a passion for the tale well-told. Essentially, I bought the book on trust, and I am very glad that I did.  Conor’s artwork bookends the volume but also wends its way between the tales, tying the project together. The narrative it illustrates represents the here-and-now of Mist's funeral and the wake – introducing the various characters, teasing out the threads and (upon occasion) interrupting the stories to comment upon them. There is something of Agatha Christie in the set-up: near strangers brought together by a death and a mystery – but the tone is gothic, more akin to The Cat and the Canary. The ever-astonishing writer, Owen Michael Johnson (Raygun Roads), does an exquisite job laying out the key characters, planting exposition in their dialogue with the panache of a stage magician. You’ll find yourself referring back to the early scenes again and again as each new tale unfolds and fresh puzzle pieces are revealed. The first tale is that of the young widow, Griselda Mist. It is integral to driving the plot of the volume as a whole, and gives us the heart of her pain. Through it, we come to care deeply for the woman and her need for closure. Boyle’s art is primarily line-work with black or white spaces used to give a sense of shadow and space. He is economical, with some panels seeming almost unfinished, yet he still manages to capture the complexity of Victorian design and decoration. His layouts are the most free of the artists within the volume, sprawling across pages to overwhelming our senses, just as Griselda herself is overwhelmed. While her memories swirl, so to do images, blending together in montage and mystery. We follow her and, as she fulfils her hostly duty – passing from guest to guest – a new writer takes over, along with a new artist to illustrate their tale. It is part anthology, part ongoing drama, and a fascinating way to construct a project. I doubt any mainstream publisher out there would have the balls to try the same. Independents have to take chances though, and make the most of their resources. This method has allowed Accent to spread the workload across a far wider pool of creative talent – each of whom most likely hold down a full-time job elsewhere, and so have limited time to spare – but it also gives us readers the with truly separate perspectives (visually and tonally) for each story.  Each life that Thaddeus has touched, he did in a different way, and the artistic approaches mirror the tone of each script beautifully. The breakneck pulp thrills of Thaddeus Mist And The Drums Of A’Kra, for instance, are drawn is a slightly cartoonish style, boxed by sketchy panels and unfolding in a cinematic fashion. Oils, by contrast, is intensely emotional and oblique, blending angular fashion design sensibilities with impressionistic close-ups. As you may have gathered, the type of story changes from person to person as well. We have a detective story, a romance to whisk us away, a penny dreadful here, a pastoral tale there—it makes for an incredibly dense book, filled with rich layers that each deserve your time.  Unfortunately, that makes it difficult to take everything in one sitting. The schlocky stories which make up the first half of the book are the most enjoyable to read, in terms of mystery and dark delight, but my personal favourites are probably Grey Britain and The Butterfly – both sentimental, uplifting and beautiful stories that nevertheless manage to remain faithful to all we have seen before. The Butterfly contains particularly effective artwork, evoking intimacy, horror and the rural idyll with equal delicacy. Old Wounds, meanwhile, has one of the most chilling images in the book, but is also filled with some of the sketchiest. A Modest Proposal balances the two sides of the anthology neatly, with its hideous conceit and an underlying streak of sentiment. It stands out for me as perhaps the most memorable of the narratives, though not the most original.  Overall impressions, then. I think this book is a grower. It takes time, it takes patience, and it takes a bit of attention. I really didn’t think I was going to like it when I began my read. I had preconceptions about the production values and the artwork, and I felt more obliged than excited at the prospect of digging into it. The more I read though, the more I was drawn to Thaddeus and his world. Mist comes from the Byronic mould – full of brooding intensity, blinding charisma and a passion for life in all shades and textures. He strides across the book like a colossus and you cannot help but marvel at him, or the mysteries that surround the man.  Each time I read it, I am awed by the format, the gumption involved in pulling such a thing together, and the sheer artistry with which the team forges a whole, complex, believable human being from such a diverse collection of tales. Oddly, joy comes as much from the questions asked as any answers received—but don’t worry, it wraps it all up perfectly. As is well recorded, the illusionist’s art is in making the mundane appear impossibly dramatic. This shared-world anthology takes things a step farther when it finally gives up its answer to the original question. Not perhaps the answer we imagined, but one that is far more emotionally satisfying, uplifting and inspirational than any magic trick could provide. The whole team should take a bow. Reading experience: 4/5  Writers / Artists Owen Michael Johnson / Conor Boyle David West / Steve Howard Mark Douglas / MD Penman Benjamin Dickson / Leonardo M Giron Max Deacon / Nicola Patten Jim Schwitzer / Rhys L Reed Andrew Cheverton / Jack Tempest Marleen Lowe Published by Accent UK Out of print, but second-hand copies are available. Maybe bug the publishers for a reprint? Or a digital version? This review was originally featured at Geek Syndicate. It has been revisited and polished up for GNOH. Many thanks to Barry once more for letting me bring it across to share with you all. TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE [PAPERBACKS FROM HELL] |
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