“Phantom of the Opera #2” – Gothic Tale Breathes New Life

What Came Before

In case you missed it, the previous issue introduced us to our central character, Christine Dubois. Leaving her career in chaos is a string of murders at the Paris Opera House. Are these the happenings of the mysterious Phantom? And how will he impact Christine’s life? Well, let’s find out in this retelling of a Gothic classic….

Writer: Tyler Boss
Artist: Martin Simmonds

Phan-tastic Writing

To start things off, I’ve never read anything from Tyler Boss. However, reading this one singular issue of “Phantom of the Opera” has made me want to read even more. Not only that, but I’ve surprisingly never watched or seen “Phantom of the Opera” before! For someone like me, I feel as if Boss did a fantastic job at displaying what makes the Phantom so scary. The writing does a fantastic job at making it clear that it’s his need for control mixed with his reclusiveness that makes him scary.

Another area where Boss lives up to his name is in the pacing and overall storytelling. Within horror, it’s important to deliver on the scares, and a large part of that is the twists and tension. Those two things, when done right, add so much to a story, and they’re done wonderfully here. With each twist, I was left in shock and awe. This, mixed with the expert pacing, left me very tense, coupled with the intense tone, especially the one left by the titular Phantom himself.

Artistic Integrity

Adding drastically to the thrills and chills is the gorgeous artwork from Martin Simmonds. In a style that seems to echo that of Dave McKean’s work on “Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth”, the painted look and use of color blending command every page. The look is absolutely jarring in the best way, placing readers into a state of uncertainty and fear, making you question what’s in the shadows. For a horror hound such as myself, every panel is something that I’d love to hang on my bedroom wall. What I think lends to creating the uneasiness is just how realistic everything looks. Simmonds gave it his all, and it shows.

Overall – 9/10

From the Boss levels of writing to the art that echoes one of the comic book greats, this is a run that’s more than worth a look at for any horror fiend. That goes double for anyone who’s a monster for the Universal Monsters.

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Comments

Are you a fan of the Universal Monsters or “Phantom of the Opera”? What are you thinking of this new comic series? Let’s discuss in the comments below!