The Exorcism at 1600 Penn: The Dark Spiral
Your mom has become president during a tumultuous time, and you cannot help but stay connected online to all of the hate and vitriol thrown her way. How would you handle it? Would you invite a demon into your life unknowingly?
The Exorcism at 1600 Penn takes us into the lives of the First Family as Mara cannot help but feed into the negativity that comes with your mom becoming President of the most powerful country on Earth. Mara is at her weakest, and there may be forces lurking in the halls of the White House ready to pounce in this demonic tale of possession.
Creative Team:
Writer: Hannah Rose May
Art: Vanesa Del Ray
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover: Vanesa Del Ray
Publisher: IDW Publishing
The Art:
The cover to this comic is what initially drew me in as the Red outfit of the woman behind the desk with a haunting Demon standing behind filled me with a lot of questions. It is a powerful cover that draws you in with the use of colors and scope.
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As we dive into the pages the first few pages don’t show our characters faces clearly which builds mystery and intrigue into this story further.
Jordie’s art compliments the mystery as the Presidents red attire is what sticks out when she is in the Oval Office and everyone else is in dull boring colors. As we move deeper into the tale, the shots of online hate being throw about which is perfectly executed by Hassan (who might I add is just everywhere this year!!) build a sense of dread and a picture of a spiraling teen. We are met with flashes of a Demonic being and Vanesa and Jordie both do a great job not giving us too much to tip their hand at just what exactly this being is or who it is.
The Writing:
Hannah crafts a fascinating tale on possession, with the opening pages highlighting what we are dealing with in real life. Breadcrumbs are being laid out, making me think this is not an isolated incident and there is more at work within this tale. The slow descent into hate and madness for Mara and building her character as an outcast is almost textbook possession 101. However, that is authentic folklore, as the Devil preys on the weak. Furthermore, bringing this tale into the White House, perhaps one of America’s most haunted buildings, crafts an air of excitement for where this may go.
Overall:
There is a lot of mystery and story-building happening in this opening issue of The Exorcism at 1600 Penn. Slowly showing us the darker forces at work while building this subplot of more happening at large within the. White House and Beyond gives the reader something to be hooked on. Looking to cozy up with a spooky comic this season? The Exorcism at 1600 Penn is the right one to kickstart your night!
9.5/10
This has been a review by Matt Roth of the podcast HopsGeekNews. For links to the weekly show about comics, movies, and TV shows as well as other reviews, check out http://linktr.ee/hopsgeeknews
