A blurb on the inside front cover indicates this comic book is based on a novel trilogy entitled The Age of Misrule. I know nothing of the novels, but this first chapter in the sequential art adaptation is certainly an accessible and enjoyable read. Writer Mark Chadbourn, who also penned the novels, taps into the same sort of foreboding, supernatural tone that we've seen from Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore. As is the case with Gaiman's novels and many of his comics, this story is about an impossible world that exists alongside the regular world, but fortunately, the story has its roots in a human protagonist's feelings. The art matches the mysterious and haunted tone of the script nicely. I suspect not many will take note of this comic book, but it merits a glance by fans of Vertigo's earlier supernatural fare and of the gothic horror genre.
Annie is a young woman living in Worcester, England, and life is not treating her well. Since the death of her boyfriend, she's felt lost, out of place in the doldrums over everyday life. She's not living up to her potential, but she doesn't have the drive to achieve new goals anymore. To fill the emptiness, Annie has resorted to magical rituals to occupy her evenings, but she does so more to indulge the dark feelings she's experiencing rather than to cast any real spells. Unfortunately for her, a tribunal of mysterious and malicious figures lurking in the night has opted to use her as a catalyst to allow magical beings to be loosed upon the Earth once more to wage a war that will no doubt decimate humanity.
Hampton's work on this comic book looks like something of a cross between the styles of Mike (Powers) Avon Oeming, Keith (Thanos) Giffen and Guy (B.P.R.D.) Davis. The style here is looser than what we've seen from Hamption i the past, if I recall correctly, but the inkiness of the artwork really brings out the eerieness of the story and adds tension as well.
The key to appreciating the plot is the Bone Inspector. He's immediately likeable because he's the first player in the drama to come along and take care of Annie, and if ever there was a character who needed a protector, it's Annie. More importantly, the Bone Inspector provides key exposition to link the events from earlier in the issue. This is just a two-part limited series, so I'm pleased that Chadbourn was able to craft a character to provide the background information needed and to establish a dynamic that allows the information to be conveyed in a logical way that doesn't interrupt or interfere with the story.
Ultimately, it is Annie's melancholy that draws one into the story. We've all experienced the kind of emptiness we see in our herione at the beginning of this story. We've even experienced those illogial, wild impulses that tell us to go somewhere unexpected, to do something that makes no sense but feels right. Annie's intelligence shines through despite the fact that she's almost completely defined by despair, pain and fear. Even though she ends up immersed in the impossible, Chaudraun has managed to get the reader interested and involved in Annie's life, and he's done so quickly. I honestly want to know what happens to her next. 7/10
