I’m not a big horror fan. Slasher films or massively gory ones are generally not my thing. So, it’s interesting when I find a horror story I like. Comics have given me an opportunity to explore more and over the years I’ve gone from disliking the entire genre to subsets of it. The first issue of Dark Ride had me intrigued and Dark Ride #2 continues that and also hit me in the gut with what’s inside.
Co-created by writer Joshua Williamson and artist Andrei Bressan the series is about an amusement park whose founder made a deal with the devil for success. Now, with the park floundering his son, Sam, is attempting to right the ship. During that, he must deal with his sister Halloween who’s a celebrity/influencer and whose solutions seem to revolve around herself. There’s also a park employee who disappeared last issue and may have been murdered. Also, Sam’s daughter. It’s that last bit that’s a gut punch.
As a father, it’s interesting reading Dark Ride #2 and seeing Sam overwhelmed with everything. He’s trying to keep things afloat causing distractions and that includes neglecting his daughter. I can’t say this isn’t something I haven’t experienced. It happens and it not only makes Sam as a character more grounded, but also clearly one we should be cheering for. And as a father, it also makes the ending of the comic a rough one, not something I’ll spoil but be prepared.
Bressan’s art is fantastic as usual. With Adriano Lucas on color and Pat Brosseau on lettering, the comic has a great style about it. There’s a “comic” style about it with a tinge of horror. It balances things quite well delivering a slightly ominous vibe about it all but also keeping things light at times and adding a bit of humor here and there. It’d be easy to go over the top but instead the style of the comic straddles the line of the visual genre it depicts. It’ll be interesting if the gore increase how the style will reflect that but overall the comic does an excellent job of making all of that secondary. It delivers a tense vibe though that fits perfectly with the story.
Dark Ride #2 is a fantastic second issue. There’s a great mystery here but it also delivers levity and grounded situations we, the readers, can relate to. It could easily have gone all in on the horror aspect but it’s clear the creative team has something greater planned for us. This is a series to dive into before it’s too late!
Story: Joshua Williamson Art: Andrei Bressan
Color: Adriano Lucas Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Story: 8.4 Art: 8.4 Overall: 8.4 Recommendation: Buy
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle
Source: Graphic Policy
