Comic Review: Outer Darkness #7

Outer Darkness #7

Image Comics

Writer: John Layman

Artist: Afu Chan

Welcome back to the science-fantasy world of Outer Darkness. Space is cold, cruel, and full of demons; it’s up to Captain Rigg and the crew of The Charon to vanquish all kinds of hellspawn while retrieving pure souls, lost in the outer darkness of space.

Story:

The crew of The Charon encounters all kinds of strange demons when on patrol, so when they find the demon-guise of a Victorian Era mansion floating through space, it’s business as usual. As Captain Rigg orders his crew to action, the storytelling takes a sudden turn. An omniscient narrator takes over. The narrator recounts the tale not of the crew, but of the house itself. It’s some clever storytelling filled with grisly details of how this mansion became demon possessed. This back story is woven through the main plot of the issue which consists of Chief Exorcist Reno, entering the space-faring mansion and rescuing a particularly interesting occupant.

Character:

After a character-driven arc that dedicates much of it’s time to the character Sato Shin, a death-crazed demon, the characterization takes a back seat to the Victorian Mansion and its unlikely occupant. However, Captain Rigg gets some much-needed backstory near the beginning of the issue. This issue is hyper-aware of itself in the sense of tropes and cheesiness that it effortlessly avoids. Credit to John Layman for these perfect self-aware moments.

Art:

The art really shines in this issue. More so than the others (though the other issues were good). Afu Chan uses a few different aesthetic styles in this piece, as the sets and characters range from science fiction spaceships and monsters to Victorian Era buildings. Some WWII soldiers even make a brief appearance. While the art-style stays true to previous Outer Darkness issues, this installment gives Chan added room to stretch and grow. It is, overall, a more dynamic issue by way of storytelling. One spectacular moment, which subverts the genre of science fiction, sees Captain Rigg give the cliche order to “. . . fire on my mark.” While some comics would be content with proton torpedos, Outer Darkness and Chan devise a much more elegant solution when dealing with space-faring demons. The sequence and tier layout let readers be surprised by each incoming panel. It defies expectations at every turn.

Aesthetically, this is the most intriguing issue of Outer Darkness, to date. The storytelling similarly takes a turn in the right direction, integrating new narrative constructs as well as characters. A must-read for Outer Darkness fans.