Like many things, comics get "greenlighted" based on a pitch. And yeah, The Black Sinister had a great premise that you can see being beautifully executed in its first chapters. But it quickly devolves with each turn of the page and goes from "this is the greatest" to "this is OK" to "man, what happened here?". Originally published in Dark Horse anthologies and now compiled, I can only surmise that Nixey (and co-author Kaare Andrews) either lost interest along the way, ran out of steam, or never really plotted it out past the great premise and became stuck needing to somehow finish it. That last installment starts out by saying "we now cut to the climatic fight", which they may have been forced to do because of the anthology nature. But I also suspect the headless robot he fights in the end is headless, well, because they couldn't take the time to figure out what it looked like.
The premise is set in a politcally corrupt steampunk era city, where the only thing dirtier than the pollution are the dastardly mayors and corrupt police chiefs who vie against unions and gangsters to try to (ineptly) control the town and its people. Enter a "Batman" like character to save the day! Only not quite. To say more would really ruin the surprises that come out early in the book, which created some great original moments that are so rare in comics these days that (if) you purchase the book you need to experience them on your own. So no more spoilers here. But it is also the greatness of the setup, with a twist so well executed, that makes the rest of the book such a let down. SUCH potential.
The art? Great. Unique and vintage Nixey (
Only the End of the World Again
), and the type of spooky style that Guillermo Del Toro would love (
Guillermo Del Toro: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark: Blackwood's Guide to Dangerous Fairies
). For that reason alone and because it has been so long since Nixey has done anything I am glad I bought it. If only an editor had stepped in and lent a helping hand and some guidance this could have been one of the best reads of the year.
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