Ellie and Dora investigate further into the criminal underworld and the occult as they seek to uncover the truth behind Alfie’s mysterious death. Alfie’s ties lead the duo to the steps of Andra, one of the members of the 500 Club. Is Andra’s to be trusted? What does he know about Alfie’s passing? Is he connected to Alfie’s death?
This series continues to unfold as Spurrier interjects bits and pieces of Alfie’s exploits in the occult world. Whether it’s the narrations or the glimpses of Alfie’s past, his actions and knowledge of the criminal and occult underworld has a massive impact on Ellie and Dora as they try to uncover the mystery behind his death. This investigation takes Ellie and Dora into some very dingy spaces that descend into madness and spiral beyond anyone’s expectations. Spurrier does a fantastic job expanding on bits and pieces of the world while keeping laser-focused on the murder mystery amongst all the occult spectacle and bloodshed that occurs on the surface.
Andras is one of the antagonists of this issue, with a reputation that moves waters due to his ties with the 500 club. He makes for an interesting antagonist to Ellie and her cast of characters who are all as shady but aren’t as terrible as Andra’s, which makes his future in Ellie’s investigation all the more interesting as the series continues. Despite some exposition here and there, the story is pretty tight and decently paced.
Charlie Adlard delivers brilliantly constructed layouts and pages that effectively communicate the kind of action and danger that Ellie and Dora get involved in. Adlard’s art is effective, but Sofie Dodgson and Sayne Hanna Cui’s color work really shines in this issue as they make use of the color work to give Adlard’s linework an otherworldly aesthetic that is hypotonic. Jim Campbell does a fantastic job with the lettering, keeping the lettering balanced with the art and keeping everything tight for the story to flow with the narrative, making the art and writing complementary.
Newsdesk