Ten years after the release of his best-selling true crime novel, Seth is trying to write again. Trying and—by his own standards—failing. He just can’t seem to give his characters the happy ending he’d like. Worse are the brutal, bloody deaths that seem to befall these characters… But are they characters? The lines between fiction and reality are starting to blur…
You’ll Do Bad Things #1 begins with a sequence straight out of a B-movie slasher… until writer Tyler Boss turns the whole thing on its head. Then he turns it inside-out, for good measure, too. Trying to figure out where Seth’s stories end and real-life begins will prove to be an impossible yet delightfully engaging task for readers in this bloody new miniseries from Image Comics.
It’s Stranger Than Fiction meets Stephen King, but with an identity all of its own, in great part to the artwork by Adriano Turtuluci. The book is lit by otherworldly hues that nevertheless succeed in highlighting both the dangerous and the mundane moments. These colours go a long way in giving the book a tangible atmosphere. Turtuluci does a great job at balancing detail with negative space, too, and the result is a book that feels stylish and fast-paced without feeling empty.
Image
Lettering is often the unsung hero of comic books—partly because good lettering should generally go unnoticed. Regardless, let’s take a moment to appreciate Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering work in this issue. Apart from one totally unique instance of dialogue involving a mirror that had this reviewer gasping aloud, Otsmane-Elhaou’s work is littered with small moments that both imbued these characters with personality and expertly captured their voices.
(Hassan also analyzes comic book storytelling very intelligently over on his YouTube channel, Strip Panel Naked, if you’re in the mood for some smart video essays on the medium.)
But what about the overall story? Well, we’re just getting started, but You’ll Do Bad Things #1 makes a compelling introduction. Boss gives Seth just enough of a personal life to help us care about him, and there’s plenty of mystery to get readers looking forward to the next issue, with several unspoken hints for the keen-eyed reader about what’s motivating the creepy killer at the heart of this book.
Tyler Boss also proves his talent as a writer with a simple scene towards the end between a grieving father and a patron at his bar. There’s real pathos there, and Boss does an excellent job at making the reader care deeply about these two characters in a short span of time.
Image
Seth’s conundrum—that he can’t write happy stories—is an interesting one. While it seems to be the case that he’s unknowingly channelling the current spate of murders in his writing, it would’ve been nice if Boss could’ve dug a little deeper into Seth’s mind. Is this morbid streak coming out of nowhere, or did something happen to him recently? What does Seth think the problem might be?
Seth’s likable enough, and it’s clear he’s on the fast-track to some serious terror later in this series, where we’ll hopefully get to dive a little deeper into his character and see what his arc will be all about.
You’ll Do Bad Things #1 is a great start to what will hopefully prove to be satisfyingly spooky mini-series. Some delectable art makes it stand out from the crowd, and it’s backed by a unique, blood-soaked spin on a fun premise. It sets a fun, reality-bending tone that promises more thrills down the line. Horror fans will want to make sure they pick this one up.
You must be logged in to post a comment.