Artifacts #38 Review

Is this tale really one that deserves your attention? Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

2013 Talent Hunt winners DEVON WONG and ISAAC GOODHART bring you the most shocking Darkness and Magdalena story ever told. Set in 1671 Mexico, the story “Through a Glass, Darkly” brings you the story that took place just before THE DARKNESS: BLACK SAILS.

When Artifacts first launched the Top Cow universe experienced an event that literally rewrote its shared history. In the aftermath a new playground was formed but the core details from that prior world managed to survive. Enter this outing, where we get to see something a bit different than what followers of this series have become accustomed to, but longtime fanboys and fangirls are bound to appreciate.

Devon Wong deserves a lot of credit for crafting a script that not only pays homage to current continuity but has the tenacity to dive into the void. At it’s core this is a history lesson for both The Darkness and The Magdalena, while highlighting certain narrative elements that dedicated readers will no doubt recognize. Despite the solid plot it still fell victim to some clunky dialogue. To be frank a few of the players came off a bit robotic but even so these instances were not rampant enough to tamper with what turned out to be an engaging product.

The illustrations by Isaac Goodhart fit the skeletal structure of the script perfectly. Soft but simple is the visual dance on display as this tactician showed his audience enough worth to earn notice. The pencil strokes never overplayed their role which turned out to be a welcoming feature, especially as the dynamic colors by Eddy Swan came into focus. In short: this comic book got a to the point display and the results were solid.

Artifacts #38 is another fine example of modern storytelling. The fact that this comes from winners of the 2013 Talent Hunt is an added bonus, as they strut their creative stuff. And they do so in a way that, at times, honestly made me want to say: holy Cow! Recommended.