Rating: 5/5
I was excited to read this book. The title and the cover art piqued my interest immediately. I had a vague notion of what the story was about when I picked it up. For met it hit on all cylinders to deliver a good story.
When we meet the heroine, Shan Fong, she is at a support group. She is there to provide closure for some widows using her ability to speak with the dead. The kicker is that her own husband, Hwen, passed away and she is unable to locate his spirit. When an opportunity that seems too good to be true comes along, Shan Fong is skeptical, but can she pass on something that may result in finding her love?
The story uses a lot of really interesting elements. It is part ghost story, part Greek tragedy, with a little bit of Faust thrown in for good measure. Let's not forget the detective, folk magic, and fairy tale elements either. With all this going on, the story could get a bit muddled. The creators handle it wonderfully though. It is layered really well so that the reader is gradually drawn into this mystical world. Shan Fong's past and relationship with Hwen unfold as the story progresses too.
And the art is fantastic. It took me a while to get used to it though. The style isn't quite as polished as I've seen in other books. It sort of reminds me of Mike Mignola's art on the Hellboy series without being as cartoonish. Anyway, the colors are great. The variety really make the pages pop at times, especially once Shan Fong enters the Deadside. It can go from dark and oppressive to bright and open quickly. The use of the different speech bubbles is a nice touch too. I could identify who was talking at times based on that alone.
This boils down to a supernatural detective story with a love story blended in. It is set in the Valiant universe, but it stands on its own really well.
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