A new year has started, and Parliament of Rooks continues to be amazing. Issue #3 picks up where the last issue concluded: Princess Seraphina realizes the monster that has been terrorizing the streets of Eborvik is none other than the love of her life, Darius Ravenscar. We open with Seraphina visiting the Ravenscar household where she meets her half-sister Rowanna for the first time, but also sees her lover in a continuing monstrous state.
There is no denying that writer/artist Abigail Jill Harding is a student of horror, as this comic series is her take on classic horror films. Although the Gothic setting alludes to stories like Beauty and the Beast, as Seraphina looks upon Darius, who drifts further and further from his humanity, there are shades of David Cronenberg’s The Fly – and during the final pages, we even approach full-blown kaiju territory.
With most of this issue taking place in the interiors of the household, we may still not have answers about what’s really going on, but what Harding nails is the various interactions going on. As Seraphina is desperate to help Darius in any way, he wants her to stay away from not only himself, but the past he has locked away from all his time, while the cold-hearted half-sister tries to resolve the situation.
As the main narrative goes on, it harkens back to the opening pages from the first issue with captions of a future Darius talking to Seraphina, which makes you question about whether the two lovers will get their happy ending or not. As we are over halfway through the series, it seems like we are getting more questions than answers, with a couple of revelations that occurred, from a major character death to someone else going through their own transformation.
The highlight of Parliament of Rooks continues to be Harding’s stellar art, which revels in both the monochromatic atmosphere and the Victorian Gothic-inspired fashion. Also, once you start throwing monsters into the mix, it becomes deliciously nasty as Harding draws such incredible detail with the body horror transition from man to giant bird-like monster, which requires pages featuring the flesh ripped off. With nearly every one of the 36 pages presented in black-and-white, Harding cleverly uses other colors as signs of tension, mostly the use of red to represent blood, as well as a brief use of light green to reveal a rook’s sickly tongue.
Three issues in, Parliament of Rooks continues to be one of the most thrilling, original titles in comics today, from the incredible monochrome art to the ever-growing horror influences.
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