Available at DriveThruComics.com ^[1]

Written, penciled, and inked by Jay Carvajal

Of Evil and Darkness follows a film crew to a mysterious island, where they are trying to find out more about the island and the mysterious murders that took place there long ago. The story starts off with humor, as even by issue two the story helps even a casual reader get adjusted to each character and their individual quirks. Upon arriving at the island, the crew is filled with a sense of nervousness from the stories about the island, and as the story progresses each character starts to become afraid. Soon they find that the stories about the island are very real, as they experience the events that took place many years ago, as a nightmare is resurrected on the island and it begins to hunt the crew down and murder them.

The film crew have unique personalities to them. From Henrick, the medium who travels with the cast and seems to foreshadow the evil events that are about to happen by his strange predictions, to the light-hearted nature of Jimmy as he tries to use humor to deal with the horror and anxiety around him. With the way the writing flows, the crew felt like they were a family which only increases the drama when the demon attacks.

Some of the story feels a little repetitive. From the beginning, where the characters are left on an island and the captain of their boat refuses to stay close due to a bad feeling about the place, to a mysterious grounds keeper who has a secret connection to the island’s history felt too familiar. That’s not to say that the story copied other stories, as the film crew adds their own sense of subtle humor and unique look at the island and at the upcoming horror. Still, the story does suffer a little from the familiarity of the setting.

The artwork is very well done. The artist makes each character distinctive and recognizable with different body shapes and sizes. The backgrounds are intricately detailed as well, with the inking bringing out the shadows and dark places on the island beautifully. The action flows just as seamless as the dialog scenes as it is easy to follow what is going on. Even the demon felt realistic for the story, avoiding the need to over embellish the demon in size or power.

With intricately detailed artwork and intriguing characters, Carvajal managed to take the familiar and add his own look to it. While the plot seems familiar, it still draws a reader in as the characters experience what is going on and each adding their own sense of life to the story. From the psychic’s grim predictions to the loving tension between Matt and Angela, the characters make this story their own. Even the demon becomes an intriguing character as he slowly seduces a victim with promises of pleasure and reunion before he reveals his grim betrayal.

Of Evil and Darkness #2 seems strong at the second issue, making it an easy read for those who miss the first issue. While the horror in the story is lost when compared with other stories that are similar, the characters help make the story different in its own way. This issue is still a strong introduction to the characters and helps make it an interesting read for horror fans that are looking for this sort of horror story.

Rating: 3 out of 5 flames…

Review by John D. Kennedy

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