I have waited months after the sold-out first issue to read the second installment of Image Comics’ Victorian Gothic tale, Mercy. A small recap for issue #1: The mysterious Lady Hellaine has arrived in Woodsburgh, where the town is being terrified by “The Woodburgh Devil” whose victim list is getting longer and longer. Hellaine meets the intelligent Widow Swanson, a witty woman who also seems to be hiding something.

We pick up where we left off is issue #1 with the dark air of death and mystery hanging over the town. Everyone of status in town is invited to Lady Hellaine’s manor home for a party. She herself is a pale, unearthly beauty and charms everyone except Widow Swanson. Hellaine also has (No spoilers here!), but their scene is both terrifying and heart breaking. Their moment it seems will haunt Hellaine (and myself for that matter) for a while.

This is what I love about this title; it’s like reading a Gothic Jane Austen novel. There is drama and class, but it also has elements of a horror thriller. In this second issue, you learn more about Lady Hellaine and what creature she may be, and it is completely and utterly tantalizing. Mercy is truly becoming my newest comic addiction.

Creative Team:  Mirka Andolfo (Story & Art)
Publisher:  Image Comics
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