Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Drew Edward Johnson
Artist: Drew Edward Johnson
Editor: Philip R Simon
Release Date: 20 January 2016
Price: $14.99
Dark Horse Comics
Who knew that hunting pixies could be so dangerous? That’s how the story in Midnight Society – The Black Lake begins. However the pixies in question are not the cute Disney-fied versions you might expect. These critters have a bad attitude and are vicious. Oh, and the two guys looking for them? One is wearing a monocle and they call each other ‘Old Boy’, so you know this is set in England.
Frankly, that’s what drew me to Midnight Society – The Black Lake in the first place. Despite many UK writers and artists having taken the comic book world by storm for many years, precious few tales have ever been set in Great Britain and of those that have, even fewer have featured native born characters. Is Midnight Society – The Black Lake going to be the book that sets the record straight and catapults the UK back to the top of the comic book tree? Well, it just might.
After our pixie scavenger hunt we jump forward forty years in Midnight Society – The Black Lake to watch Matilda Finn having a shower. Can’t say I have a problem with that, but she refers to herself in the third person and seems to be having a recurring dream about a leviathan. Curious then that as some sort of secret agent she’s sent to find Dr. Kevin Kaycee, one of the aforementioned pixie hunters who has gone missing under Loch Ness. That’s right, I said ‘under’ Loch Ness. Well, where else would you find England’s premier cryptozoologist whose job it is to track mythical creatures, which at least explains the pixies.
I would tell you more about Midnight Society – The Black Lake but that would be giving the game away and besides my review copy blanked out on me just when things were getting interesting. From what I’ve seen this is a textured, intelligent and beautifully crafted piece of storytelling, which deserves to be ranked with the best of them. Midnight Society – The Black Lake will not disappoint.
Reviewer: Gary Orchard
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker