Writer Gerry Duggan and Garry Brown team for an all-new, action-packed ongoing series titled, Falling in Love on the Path to Hell. First announced with an exclusive ashcan giveaway to retailers at Emerald City Comic Con, this gunslinging tale of love and revenge is set to launch on June 5 from Image Comics.
The debut issue of Falling in Love on the Path to Hell will showcase a massive extra-length story that drops readers straight into the action.
The sun set on samurai and gunslingers at roughly the same time in the 1870s—but Falling in Love on the Path to Hell’s two leads didn’t die off quietly. In Japan, Asami, an Onna-musha warrior and female samurai, would rather die with her weapons than surrender them to a sword hunt. In California, the gunslinger MacRaith follows his revenge to the bitter end and pays the ultimate price.
The unlikely pair are mortally wounded a world apart, but awake together in a purgatory ruled by a ruthless, nightmarish society of damned warriors.
Like a Quentin Taratnino film spliced with the otherworldly intrigue of Lost, Falling in Love on the Path to Hell has it all—action, the dead, the dying, the undead, and of course…romance.
Falling in Love on the Path to Hell #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, June 5:
Cover A by Brown – Lunar Code 0424IM199
Cover B (1:10 copy incentive) by Rian Gonzales – Lunar Code 0424IM200
Cover C (1:20 copy incentive) by Klaus Janson – Lunar Code 0424IM201
The breakout character from The Suicide Squad gets his own tale of peace timed to the HBO Max TV show!
Long before joining the Suicide Squad, Christopher Smith, code name Peacemaker, meets with a psychiatrist—a woman dangerously obsessed with his bizarre and violent past. From his tragic childhood to his military service overseas to his multiple missions with Special Forces, Smith has more than his share of skeletons in the closet. But who’s actually analyzing whom? And will this trip down memory lane result in yet more fatalities?
Garth Ennis and Garry Brown delve deep into Christopher Smith’s history of violence, and reveal what might bring peace—or not—to the Peacemaker.
The breakout character from The Suicide Squad gets his own tale of peace timed to the HBO Max TV show!
Long before joining the Suicide Squad, Christopher Smith, code name Peacemaker, meets with a psychiatrist—a woman dangerously obsessed with his bizarre and violent past. From his tragic childhood to his military service overseas to his multiple missions with Special Forces, Smith has more than his share of skeletons in the closet. But who’s actually analyzing whom? And will this trip down memory lane result in yet more fatalities?
Garth Ennis and Garry Brown delve deep into Christopher Smith’s history of violence, and reveal what might bring peace—or not—to the Peacemaker.
Written by: Rex Ogle, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick Art by: Dave Johnson, , Garry Brown
The fear-soaked finale! Manipulated by the Occultist, Jessica has done the unthinkable and murdered her best friend, but her torments are far from over. Then, in our final terrifying trip into the haunted artifact room, Domo Stanton tells the heart-stopping tale of the Occultist’s Chalice!
Babyteeth #20 wraps up the series but is it in a satisfying way?
Story: Donny Cates Art: Garry Brown Color: Mark Englert Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Get your copy in comic shops! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
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The Conjuring: The Lover is reaching its end and its fourth and penultimate instalment puts main character Jessica in the worst possible spot for the devil to do his dirty work. I use ‘devil’ here metaphorically as the comic does have an actual living agent of evil that’s orchestrating the haunting of Jessica’s life and turning her into a tragic victim of satanic power. Watching the third movie of The Conjuring universe, subtitled “The Devil Made Me Do It,” sheds more light on this, making this a great prologue/companion piece to it.
Writers David L. Johnson-McGoldrick and Rex Ogle along with Garry Brown on art have already crafted an oppressive and dread-filled environment for Jessica to traverse in, and not to her benefit. Her college life hangs in the balance and last issue’s cliffhangers will seal the deal on that front. If The Lover can be boiled down to a fight for Jessica’s soul, this issue sets up the knockout punch.
The evil that’s operating behind the scenes is making its biggest moves here and all roads lead to oblivion. It makes for a tough read as the main character is basically being tortured at an existential level with no hope of things getting better in sight. This doesn’t mean the story is banking on pain for the sake of it, but I’m curious to see what all this emotional suffering is leading up to in the coming final issue.
The Lover #4’s faux horror ads are still a highlight, this time bringing in some familiar demons into the ghoulish fun. It pays off to be a fan of the Conjuring universe here. There’s a lot to look through and artist Dave Johnson looks like he’s thoroughly enjoying putting them together along with Johnson-McGoldrick, who writes the ads.
The Conjuring: The Lover #4
This entry’s back-up story, from the Warren’s haunted artifact room, comes courtesy of Ray Fawkes and Christopher Mitten and it puts the spotlight square on the strange music box from the first Conjuring movie. It’s a quick but fierce punch of a story that manages to pull as much horror from the music box as possible. The setup is instantly identifiable, but it adds different levels to its mystery to make it a darkly profound story that aims to deceive.
The Conjuring: The Lover has managed to maintain a formidable degree of terror throughout the series and it looks like the finale will leave an impression, or a bloody handprint, once it closes shop. We might need to get used to the idea that sometimes evil can have its way and that we are powerless to stop it. Scary thought, huh.
Story: David L. Johnson-McGoldrick and Rex Ogle, Art: Garry Brown Colors: Mike Spicer, Letterer: Becca Carey Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Read with a bottle of holy water nearby
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review.
Written by: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick Art by: Dave Johnson, Christopher Mitten, Garry Brown
Kicked out of college after nearly murdering a classmate, Jessica finds herself back home. Is something taking control of her actions and forcing her to behave violently, or is the secret she’s been keeping driving her mad? Plus, a terrifying tale of the haunted music box!
Written by: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick Art by: Dave Johnson, Christopher Mitten, Garry Brown
Kicked out of college after nearly murdering a classmate, Jessica finds herself back home. Is something taking control of her actions and forcing her to behave violently, or is the secret she’s been keeping driving her mad? Plus, a terrifying tale of the haunted music box!
The Conjuring: The Lover #3 has finally put its main character, Jessica, on a straight path to the source of her haunting, and things are getting diabolically tense. The third entry of this horror series seems to be eyeing its endgame quite closely and is thus moving its pieces towards a terrifying finale where evil might actually prevail should Jessica not find a way to rid herself of the mysterious Satanist behind it all.
The Lover has been an immensely fun ride. It thrives on a sense of claustrophobia by keeping the focus close on Jessica and how the thing that’s haunting her further isolates her from friends and any chance of complete salvation from the situation. Issue #3 ramps up the haunting, isolating the character to the point of constant oppression, tricking her friends into believing her behavior stems from good old-fashioned madness.
In this sense, the story reminds me even more of the movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), in which a female college student struggles with behavior that her family thinks can be attributed to demonic possession when the evidence more directly points to mental illness (based on the true case of Annaliese Michel, who underwent 67 Catholic rites of exorcism that ultimately led to her death).
While the comic leaves less space open to interpretation as to the origin of Jessica’s haunting, it nonetheless resorts to similar storytelling elements to show just how this haunting disconnects someone from the world. It’s been a steady build to this since issue #1 and it’s paying off quite well here.
The Conjuring: The Lover #3
Garry Brown’s art is especially effective in portraying Jessica’s own sense of dread as she gets pulled away from the people that can help her the most by the person enacting the horror that’s latched on to her. Each panel feels claustrophobic, enclosing Jessica deeper within her environment. At points, it feels as if the panels themselves are attacking the character, pushing into even more uncomfortable spaces.
As has been the case in the previous two entries, this issue contains a back-up story featuring a haunted item from the Warren’s Artifact Room, and this issue’s tale might be it’s best yet. It looks at the now infamous Accordion Monkey and it’s written by Tim Seely with art by horror master Kelley Jones and colors by Jordie Bellaire.
It’s a tale that has a 1970’s horror vibe to it in that the inner workings of the haunted object contains a healthy dose of madness, violence, and insidiousness. The horror put on display has no qualms painting a bleak picture for those involved and it savors the idea that darkness tends to have a better chance at prevailing in cases such as this.
The Conjuring: The Lover #3
Seely’s script is tight and smartly gruesome when it needs to be, but Jones’ art is what seals the deal on this one. It’s a great reminder of why Jones deserves to be among the best horror illustrators in the business. It feels classic EC Horror to an extent, but it looks to be more than just an homage to horror’s past. It truly is a treat getting this story right after a solid entry of The Lover.
Things aren’t looking so good for Jessica and the next issue is shaping up to be an intense encounter with the dark forces that have decided to torment her. We can only hope the Warrens make a surprise appearance to save the day, but the way things are going, that doesn’t seem like it’s going to be the case.
Story: David L. Johnson-McGoldrick & Rex Ogle, Art: Garry Brown Color: Jordie Bellaire Story: 8.0 Art: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy and always have a friend that believes you see ghosts.
Written by: Tim Seeley, Rex Ogle, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick Art by: Kelley Jones, Garry Brown, Dave Johnson
Jessica’s dizzying descent into madness continues as she finds herself dealing with an act of violence she has no recollection of committing. To make matters worse, a crushing sense of isolation and paranoia drives her to the brink. Now, nearing emotional collapse, Jessica finds herself coming to terms with the terrifying reality that these ever-worsening events may not be the product of her deteriorating psyche, but of something else…something inhuman. Then, join us for a third terror-inducing tour of the Warrens’ haunted artifact museum and witness the spine-tingling origin of the accordion monkey by the dream team of Tim Seeley and Kelley Jones!
