Writer: Stuart Manning
Artist: Aaron Campbell
Published by Dynamite Entertainment
In which the Collins family holds a séance in order to learn who is behind the bloody scrawls of “She Approaches” and what dangers this portent heralds for them…
After getting readers up to speed in the first issue, Stuart Manning wastes little time in resolving one mystery – the identity of the “she” who approaches.
For longtime Dark Shadows fans, the answer is hardly surprising. Indeed, it might be viewed through rolled eyes as the comic seemingly strives for a “factory default” reset in terms of setting up all the best-known characters in their most familiar roles.
In practical terms, though, this makes more sense than relying on 40-year-old continuity even more than the comic already does. But seeing as the character in question was previously established as already existing in the present day, this poses some puzzling continuity issues which one hopes will be addressed at some point.
On the plus side, Quentin Collins makes a proper debut here after a cursory one-panel cameo last issue. He quickly establishes himself as a sardonic voice of reason amidst his frightened relatives, and understandably suspects Barnabas as the cause of Carolyn’s distinctive wounds. Barnabas suspects another vampire has arrived in Collinsport, but as Quentin discovers, the truth is far worse…
Verdict: An absorbing and tense “action episode” which answers one question but poses more. 7/10
John S. Hall
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