our story opens in the middle of the snow covered woods around a campfire with our supporting characters casually discussing weather and death. the scene is made beautiful not only by james harren’s pencil work, but also by dave stewart’s brilliant colors. he masterfully emits the light and shadow around the characters casting the illusion of realism.
i felt like i was on the other side of the fire listening to these soldiers and watching johann inflate his containment suit with his ectoplasmic projection like a balloon. his ability to “go ghost” and possess/inhabit dead bodies (or even dead mooses)is really fucking awesome. definitely one of my favorite characters in the mignolaverse.
the most emotional scene comes when daimio is contemplating suicide because of his difficulty in coming to terms with transforming into a murderous were-jaguar.
in the last act of the book is were james harren really shines. he is without a doubt one of the best action sequence artists i’ve had the pleasure of observing. he has the ability to make every fight as intense and fast-paced as a battle royale.
highly recommended!