Time for something a little more serious now from the same grave issue as our last Chamber of Chills #24 post. And for a brief 5-pager, Bob Powell fills every panel to the brim with outstanding funeral mood and atmosphere. If that ain't enough, check out that bone-chilling Lee Elias cover classic!
I had never seen this tale before, the art and story were both great. The narration reminded me of the old time radio stories, with each narrated word adding to the tension and dread.
ReplyDeleteOne more great chilling find, thanks Karswell.
It's easy to compare a lot of these non-supernatural ones to Alfred Hitchcock episodes, but this feels like one.
ReplyDelete(Although I can't name a particular one that it feels like.)
These types of stories are great reads -- nothing especially supernatural happens but a series of eventually leads to the "punch" ending. It's the kind of story where stellar narration seals the deal, as it does here.
ReplyDeleteLot to love on the art; we get repeated panels of the water rising but Powell keeps the camera moving so they never go boring. He makes the best use of the constricted splash by drawing a line from the chocking woman to the man to the steeple. That's some really good composition!
BTW note the middle three pages: 3 vertical rows of panels. On each, Louis is featured on the top and the bottom and an unrelated panel fills the middle. This is extremely clever, it allows the story to jump back and forth without feeling like it's getting lost.
I also really love the story structure here, with its omniscient narration relating the immediate struggles of Anna's murderer, punctuated by details of her own postmortem activity related over what I assume is a more protracted timeline. It certainly doesn't take Louis so long to drown as it does for his victim to be found, examined, placed in state, a grave dug and a coffin made and one lowered into the other. Or does it? Ugh, something to think about.
ReplyDeleteDelightful, aggressive art. The character drawing is wonderful--the splash, Anna in her casket--and the action is raucous. Or quiet: I like the two simple frames of the gendarmes standing around in lamplight.