Customer Reviews

The Dark Goodbye Volume 2

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are not many Cthulhu mythos manga. I thought Arkham Woods by Christopher Rowley was the first, but The Dark Goodbye may predate it. Taimashin #1 has acupuncturists fighting Wilbur Whateley's twin in a book woeful except for the art. No Man's Land #1 and 2 by Jason DeAngelis finds a gunslinger fighting demons released by abuse of the Necronomicon. Apart from this device it is much less Cthulhu mythos than The Dark Goodbye.

After the ichor settles from the first book, we come to volume 2 of The Dark Goodbye, where Mutt is even further down the drain in the town of Gatemouth. Ephraim Wheatley (get it?) needs help as something is going wrong on his farm. The lovely femme fatale Sylvia Sliverstab needs to investigate her business partner. Professor Jefferson Pennruddock, an astronomer, has discovered some disturbing things about recent meteor showers, Pluto and the nature of dark matter. Which one will Mutt help first? Will it all tie together? In this book, imagery from The Colour Out of Space is mixed with a different take on the Fungi from Yuggoth (turns out they really are fungi...).

The artistic team hits its stride even better in volume 2. I enjoyed the art and the humor, and was willing to make allowances for the thread thin nature of the story. It is a comic after all. My main regret is there seems to be no hope for a third book for a very long time, maybe ever. Too bad, as there are plenty of tantalizing hints of what was to come. At least Mr. Rausch seems likely to continue with Lovecraftian themes.

The Dark Goodbye is a great read for fans of Lovecraft and Detective pulp tales. The story would of made for a great novel, But the fact that it is a graphic novel, rewards you with fantastic visuals from a very talented artist. Drew Rausch's art really gives you the feel of being in the middle of a story straight from the mythos. I have read the first volume of this series and look forward to the next.