Written by: Ray Fawkes
Art by: Ray Fawkes
Published by: Image Comics
With every issue of Underwinter, Ray Fawkes finds some new way to impress me. Initially, his art style was all it took. Then it was the panel layouts, and use of gutters. Last issue, it was a character vomiting and bleeding ink onto the page. Fawkes’ work on this book feels like an evolution of Lovecraftian horror–one that would be virtually possible in a medium that isn’t comics.
This issue continues the upward trend in quality. Here, it’s the lettering that truly stands out. While Fawkes continues to weave a tale of descent into insanity through the art and prose, Steve Wands does that task through the thought bubbles. Echoing sentences and distorted words lend visual impact to the monologues and dialogue, and, as with every other element, hammer home the protagonists’ rapid descent into insanity.
While I’m on the topic of Fawkes’ creative partners, I’ve only just noticed that this book credits a costume consultant–Dani V. That particular credit is one I haven’t seen before, but it makes a lot of sense. The costumes are outstanding. A panel towards the end of this issue sees the four protagonists standing shoulder to shoulder, and their costumes are particularly pronounced.
The protagonists aren’t alone in having great costumes; every character in this book has an aesthetic that perfectly suits the role they play. Fawkes’ water colors bring those aesthetics to life, but I imagine V must have played an important role as well.
On the writing side, this issue’s prose was especially impressive. The introductory pages are as unsettling as those of the first issue. Fawkes somehow finds a way to describe the indescribable, rationalizing and grounding the sensations of Lovecraftian horror in ways other writers seem incapable of. Fawkes doesn’t bother with the typical handwaving of this genre; instead, he finds ways to capture the sheer terror of the experience while maintaining the sense that the characters are struggling to find the right words.
This issue consists largely of flashbacks, offering the most poignant bits of characterization yet. Although a line of dialogue in this issue explains that the characters are all falling apart in their own way. Which is true, and more literal in some cases than others. But the flashbacks establish that they’ve been falling apart for a long time, and their experiences in this story simply gave them the last little push they needed.
Underwinter is nothing short of a masterpiece. It’s a defining work not only of the genre, but also of comics as a medium. The work Fawkes does here is the type of work that I want to see replicated and incorporated into future stories. While it may be too late to jump into the singles if you haven’t already, be sure to invest in this book when it’s collected.
