Review – Artifacts: Lost Tales #1 (Image Comics)

Publisher: Image Comics
Writer(s): Ross Hardy, Jonny Hinkle, Andrew Knighton
Artist(s): Brian Rogers, Demetres Panayides, Alvaro Sarreseca
Release Date: 6th May, 2015

[WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]

This book is an anthology of stories put together by the runners-up from the 2013 “Talent Hunt” competition and while I have personally never heard of it, based on what I’ve seen here I can only imagine the judging was incredibly tough. All the stories here have a supernatural theme, and while they’re all distinct in their own way, they could quite easily all take part in a shared universe.

The first story, “Rubber Red”, deals with a police officer transporting a serial killer she captured to jail where he will eventually be executed. We find out his MO was killing women by throwing them over a bridge while wearing a red mask. During the pair’s discussion the killer break free of custody and runs back to the bridge. It is here that he begins to summon Bael (who we never see) but despite what is going on the officer manages to stop the killer’s self sacrifice. It is here that we found out that Bael had told the killer to bring this particular officer here and that she has heard the name before, She can’t remember where and now feels like she is being watched.

In “A Heartfelt Offer”, a doctor, after trying and failing to stop a family turning off a patent’s life support, is visited by a demon with a tempting offer. In exchange for the Heartstone around her neck he will make sure that every patient she treats will get better and live. After a bit of to and fro she declines and the demon prepares to take it by killing her. This is interrupted by the sprite of her dead patents who protect her and kill the demon.

The final story in the collection, “Only Darkness”, is more of a thought piece, set during the Vietnam War, dealing with the innate evil that lurks in all humankind. The main character, Vinny, is sent down a tunnel in order to dispatch a Viet Cong rebel. During his descent his internal darkness starts a monologue about how it started and slowly starts to physically turn Vinny into a monster. He is then shown leaving the tunnel covered in blood leaving the reader to decide if the darkness turned Vinny into a monster or if he was already one.

I really enjoyed the artwork throughout this book as it helped to give each story a unique character and feel. The first two stories felt like they were interconnected and had almost been planned that way. Their cliffhangers could easily lead on to a mini series or limited run that people would most definitely be interested in. While the third story is undoubtedly impressive, it does feel a little out of place and, on reflection, probably should stay as a one shot. Which is still no bad thing.

Overall, this one-shot collection is a good pick up if you are looking for an easy and enjoyable read, and serves as a great testament to some of the tremendous unsigned comic book talent flying under the radar out there.

Rating: 3/5.

The writer of this piece was: David Gladman