The debut issue of Kill Your Darlings was probably one of the best comics I’ve read this year. Not only did it have a compelling hook, but the ending practically screamed for me to read the next issue. Kill Your Darlings #2 continues the forward momentum from the first issue, once again blurring the lines between fantasy and reality while thrusting its protagonist Rose into a conflict that forces her to face all manner of demons – both mental and physical.
Picking up almost immediately where the previous installment left off, Kill Your Darlings #2 finds Rose as a teenager in the early 2000s whose life has gone to hell. Without a concrete explanation as to why her house was burned down, people start actually believing that she killed her mother. But an encounter with a figure from her childhood reveals that she may be innocent – as well as the last, best hope for the world she constructed during said childhood.
Throughout Kill Your Darlings #2, writers Ethan S. Parker and Griffin Sheridan maintain a rather somber mood. In contrast to the more upbeat moments in the first issue, there’s some rather heavy moments. To Parker and Sheridan’s credit, they treat this subject matter with the gravity it deserves; even though this is a dark fantasy comic, it feels very human and realistic in tackling Rose’s mental state. In a way, the writers are also using the story as a metaphor for growing up and how the world can often shatter your dreams. But there’s also a glimmer of hope at the end that spoke to me as a writer, and may touch other readers’ hearts as well.
Bob Quinn also rolls with the shift in tone, as his art and colors take on a decidedly darker turn. Shadows seem to creep out of every corner, whether it’s a lush forest in the 1700s or the facility where Rose now lives. As if to underline just how crappy Rose’s life has gotten, the only splashes of color come from a series of pills she has to take, as Quinn arranges the panels featuring said pills in a circular, cascading rhythm. Finally, John J. Jill’s lettering is mostly your standard black and white, save for a surprise near the end which I won’t spoil.
Kill Your Darlings #2 shows no signs of letting up, taking a darker turn while still blending elements of fantasy alongside its reality. Like the previous issue, the ending promises to go deeper – and potentially darker – than what came before, but that’s what makes it one of the most interesting books on the stands.
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