Drew Edward Johnson’s miniseries returns, this time with a lot more of it taking place underwater. Is it good?
The Midnight Society: The Black Lake #2 (Dark Horse Comics)
The issue opens with Agent Finn submerging into the Loch (in a really cool looking ship) with Bill Wetherell, who immediately starts spitting game. Unbeknownst to him, Finn’s eyes are leaking some sort of black fluid. She is able to stop it, though, allowing the character to interact normally.
Then they talk to each other…a lot…for a really long time.
…while the crew on the surface ship enjoys a ‘Dress like Steve Jobs’ day.
Stuff finally starts getting good when their ship comes across what’s left of Kaycee’s team along with what found them.
Is It Good?
Midnight Society: The Black Lake has a ton of potential. Unfortunately, the story is getting killed by its pacing. Johnson writes well, but the scenes between Finn and Wetherell felt like they went on forever. It might have worked in trade or graphic novel format, but not as a single issue.
The book’s saving grace so far has been Johnson’s artwork, which is superb. He really cuts loose on the last few pages with some cool/gory visuals. He also seems to have gotten more comfortable from the last issue drawing facial expressions. I also feel like this chapter gave us a bit more direction than the last one on where things were going (even if we did have to take a very long trip down exposition road to get it). There’s still a lot that isn’t clear, though (like the whole demonic-mascara/underwater vision thing that’s going on with Finn).
What is clear, however, is that Johnson is exceptionally talented. But the nuts and bolts of his narrative could definitely use some tightening. Until that happens, Midnight Society: The Black Lake will continue to be a beautiful and aimless tale.
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