The Darkness: Four Horsemen #2
I said it in my last review, and I’ll say it
again. Comics need a rating system. I know Marvel puts “parental
advisory” on their comics but unlike the film rating system, you do
not know what they are advising you against. For instance, in the
recent X-Men vs. Vampires book, the parental advisory was
most likely for Wolverine’s language, for there was no gore at all
within the story. Also, films’ have different ratings, like PG-13
and R. These different levels could come in handy for those that can
handle some amount of gore, but not Saw-like grotesqueness.
The second issue of The Darkness: Four Horsemen only made me
want every comic publishing company to follow in the footsteps of
Marvel.
But I digress. This tells you nothing about the
comic, but more about how much of a chicken I am. The Top Cow comics
are great at re-introducing stories and catching up new readers, as
I noticed in Artifacts. For those that did not read my review
of The Darkness: Four Horsemen, our “hero” Jackie Estacado,
is hired by an old-enemy to kill a group of bikers. Unbeknownst to
Estacado is the fact that the demonic forces known as the Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse possess these bikers.
Issue #2 picks up right where the last issue
ended. Jackie has arrived in Ginsberg, California, which has now
been turned into hell on Earth. The Four Horsemen continue to
rampage and terrorize the townsfolk. Meanwhile, there are two other
forces on their way to Ginsberg: A mysterious girl with glowing eyes
who is hitchhiking and a businessman flying in a jet. Not much is
known about either of these characters, but it seems that everyone
in a suit in this comic is pretty much evil.
This particular issue is merely a set up for
events to come. Not much actually happens action-wise till the very
end, where we learn how affective the Darkness is against the Four
Horsemen. It did hold my interest; just wish I had been able to hold
my lunch.
Again, the comic is macabre and grotesque. Even
when the artist decides not to show what happens to the victims’ of
the Four Horsemen, the writer’s description is enough to make you
sick. Of course, the artist only decides not to show the results
just once, and that is because it would have been too sexually
explicit. Sure, violence is okay, but apparently not sex. There is a
cartoonish sense to the artwork, but still for me it doesn’t make it
any less graphic.
Writer David Hine’s note at the end of the comic
was a nice addition to the book. He explains the mythology of the
Four Horsemen and his choices of their look for this particular
incarnation. It’s a great insight into the mind of a very off kilter
individual.
I will most likely review The Darkness: Four
Horsemen #3, but not willingly. No, the choice is based on
professionalism not desire. I may enjoy a horror film every now and
then, but I don’t have the stomach for this particular story. It
doesn’t even interest me as to how it concludes.
