What scares you more: the demons in the street or in your closet?

I’ve been consistently impressed with this series since the first issue, each one serving its story incredibly well and employing fun and interesting wrinkles in what could have easily been another monster horror book.  Crafting a driven and complete story is not as easy as it can seem sometimes, and this team knocks this one out of the park, making a plot-driven story that has strong characters and enough twists and intelligent resolutions that yields a complete and fascinating package.

So far, the big hook has been that Jack is an outpouring of belief, that he’s only as powerful as people think he is and has to behave in the same manner. Much like Ghostbusters 2, Arthur and Detective Bell set out to fill the world with their version of the Tulpa, one that they can take down.  It’s a fun spin on “Know thy enemy” and is just one example of Tony Deans’ ability to stand tropes on their head and come up with something unique and interesting.  The final confrontation takes a few turns that you won’t see coming and adds a wonderful complexity to the work as a whole.  Still pulling a touch from the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, our intrepid heroes have to fight themselves as well as the evil that’s been plaguing London’s streets and culminates in an ending that leaves few things unanswered, allowing the ending note to sit with us even after we finish.

Each issue’s artwork has stepped up over the series, and this last one is the best of them all.  We finally get a good, close look at Jack and his tactics.  This is one bad dude, and Seth Kumpf and Lucas Duimstra do a great job of giving him and imposing and powerful presence.  The action is tighter than it has been, and the creation of tension is really effective.  Keeping the pace solid from front to back, Kumpf and Duimstra finish this issue with genuine talent and aplomb and give us something to talk about for a good bit, as the last moment is done quite artfully.

This is certainly a great ending to a good indie book that people who dig Blade, Sherlock Holmes, and Van Helsing will certainly enjoy.  If you’re looking for a solid, mid-century supernatural thriller with wit, panache, and enough horror to drive things, well then this will fit the bill.

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