A self-published series of 11 books under the umbrella title of The Northern Dark are now available from Comixology.com.
The first several issues consist of a mini-series entitled The Angel of Fear, so let’s have a quick look at this title, shall we?
It’s Autumn 1924 in Sweden. Dead leaves are blowing through the streets of Svartmala as a deck of special cards is being dealt in a church. The cards are outrageous, preposterous, but also prescient. The old lady examining the cards is foretelling an event to the vicar. Meanwhile, in Helsingborg, Sweden’s gateway to the continent, young Viktor Kasparson is in the darkroom, developing rolls and rolls of black and white film. But Viktor is soon to be assigned to arrange a test flight of an old plane, in order to work with a brand new invention: a high precision aerial surveillance camera!
In order to do this, novice Viktor must journey to Svartmala, meet up with a young female pilot, and step carefully around her stepfather, a cruel, sadistic WWI casualty.
Writer and illustrator Dennis Gustafsson is onto something here… a mystery, a possible romance? Some supernatural elements?
Dark and foreboding, the Angel of Fear is a wonderful read. Gustaffson knows his way around writing effective scenes and characters… his narration is enough to entrance us into wanting to read further. The artwork is thick line, flowing, and poetic. Gustaffson lingers on scenes and shows details, revealing information in the visuals that do not occur in the written word. The colours assist in giving dimension and emotional attitudes at the same time. It’s a combination of a retro-storybook look and a cool indie vibe.
This is a fun adventure, perfect reading in perfect English, and suitable for those who enjoy Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rocketman, Sherlock Holmes, and other period stories!
Gustafsson has continued the Northern Dark series to encompass other short stories and full-length comics too.
A free download of Volume Six contains three short stories, more supernatural in nature. Here is its link:
https://www.thenortherndark.com/downloads/AoF_1.pdf
Dennis Gustafsson: The Northern Dark, 11 issues available online as pdf digital downloads for .99 each at this link:
The Northern Dark Digital Comics – Comics by comiXology
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