* SPOILER-FREE REVIEW *
"It's going to be fine. Nightmares are as natural as rain."
Author Christopher Vogler once said in his international best-selling storytelling guide 'The Writer's Journey', "Artists who operate on the principle of rejecting all form of themselves are themselves dependent on the form". If that sounds like hot nonsense upon initial glance, let me contextualize that a bit here: Tom King has like four different writing voices -- none of which sound like each other, but all end up creating stories that are captivating as f@%k.
King doesn't conjure up these stories the same way, and he most certainly doesn't lay them out to the reader in a similar way and/or expect his collaborators to conform to his style either -- King conforms to his collaborators' strengths and artistic voice (remember the multiple voices thing?).
Take his work with Mitch Gerads (that tandem has enough Eisner wins to make even Stan Sakai envious) on titles like Mister Miracle or Batman: The Brave and the Bold as an example, or his current ongoing run on the main-line Wonder Woman title with new industry-house-style-bar-setter Daniel Sampere, Tom leans less on an abundance of dialogue and more on conveying emotion with facial expressions or prolonged pauses (and nine-panel grids, that's pretty consistent). That has not been the approach with his and Evely's work together -- not with the 2023 Hugo Award finalist Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and not with this first issue of their Arthurian sword and sorcery epic Helen of Wyndhorn #1.
Please, don't hear what I'm not saying: this book rocks. HARD. Everything from the narrative style (similar to Supergirl) to the slow-burn character work right at the beginning, I'm already ready to hurt in a way only Tom King can execute. Truthfully, and this is a bit of low-hanging fruit analysis (without giving away any key plot points), but if you enjoyed Woman of Tomorrow, you will most certainly love this next at-bat by King and Evely. Less Kryptonians this time around, but the same amount of dead parents... somehow? Thankfully, joining them once again here are Colorist Matheus Lopes and Letterer Clayton Cowles. Here is a brief synopsis of issue one:
"Following the tragic death of her late father, Helen Cole is called back to her Grandfather's enormous and illustrious estate: Wyndhorn House. Helen wreaks drunken havoc upon her arrival; however, her chaotic ways begin to soften as she discovers a lifetime of secrets hiding within the myriad rooms and hallways of the expansive manor."
I think this goes without saying at this point, but there is truly no one quite like Bilquis Evely in comics today. The atmosphere and verve on each page can only be accomplished by a select few artists in the world, and can only be done as well by Evely herself.
This should be an insta-pull for most readers. No, seriously, call your LCS right now and put one of these beautiful covers on your pull-list right now. Also, go read Woman of Tomorrow too -- did you hear that they were making a movie about it?
