On July 24th, 2024, a new horror anthology hit the shops, promising a collection of the darkest stories pulled from the twisted minds of some of today’s greatest comic creators. But this is not the much anticipated relaunch of EC comics by Oni Press. No, this is a different title from BOOM! Studios, Hello Darkness.
Credit: BOOM! Studios
It’s probably rare to start a review by analyzing the title of a comic in depth, but this particular title has a surprising strength. From the moment I looked at the cover and saw the title, a Simon & Garfunkel song became firmly entrenched in my head. The tune and lyrics to The Sound of Silence began to play out in the back of my mind even before I turned over the cover and, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get it out of my head as I read each and every story. Don’t get me wrong, I love The Sound of Silence. In fact, I have a short playlist made up entirely of cover versions (The Chromatics version from 2019 is my favorite), but the music sets a tone, and the poetic Poe-esq lyrics automatically creates expectations for the comic. The Gothic mystery and horror tales that writers such as Edgar Allan Poe created is evoked by the haunting Simon & Garfunkel tune. The title of this comic creates a soundtrack, an audible aesthetic, that you play over while reading. This is an unusual aspect for comics, because it’s not often that soundtracks are attributed to what we are reading unless the creators release a playlist through the paratext of a publication or the promotion of the work (see Kieron Gillen’s work for great examples of this). However, Hello Darkness manages to do this with the title alone.
The other amazing aspect of this comic again lies within the extras to the comic strips, and is an editorial written by Bryce Carlson, VP of Editorial & Creative Strategy for the publisher. In it, Carlson introduces the concept behind the comic’s existence and the need, nay, the WANT from creators and readers for anthology comics. “It’s an incredible format,” Carlson states within the text page, and they’re not wrong. It’s strange to someone from the UK that there aren’t more anthology comics around, considering we’ve grown up on them and 2000AD is one of the most famous anthology comics that is still going after nearly 50 years of publication. So I for one welcome the return of the anthology and, I hope, that the few new titles leading the way are successful, last a long time, and encourage more to be produced.
Credit: BOOM! Studios
Hello Darkness is a collection of one-shot stories, with a couple of ongoing tales thrown in. Seven stories in all, each written and illustrated by a collection of some of the best voices working in modern comics. Garth Ennis, Becky Cloonan, Steve Orlando, Jude Ellison S. Doyle, to name but a few. Each brings their unique voice to the mix producing an anthology of various styles and aesthetics. This is one of the main differences to the new EC range coming out from Oni Press: the comic strips in Hello Darkness contrast and compliment each other but could easily be reprinted separately elsewhere. There is no specific theme or ethos running through this comic except that the creators have delved deep into their twisted minds to bring out the stories they can’t tell anywhere else. This is a comic of gruesome and unsettling ideas, and is exactly what readers should want from a horror anthology.
The Siren—a straightforward, creepy tale by Sarah Anderson—will appeal greatly to lovers of myths and Japanese horror aesthetics. Elsewhere, some readers may be indifferent to part one of A Monster Hunter Walks Into A Bar, because it is part of James Tynion IV’s Something is Killing the Children universe and feels like it is lacking a hook in isolation. However, if you’ve followed SIKTC, then this will be a welcome addition. Personally, I feel that Ennis and Cloonan’s The War is a much stronger opening chapter to a serialized work. It has firm introductions to the characters, centering on a long conversation between friends before snaring the reader with a cliffhanger ending.
Credit: BOOM! Studios
The placement of Contagious by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Letizia Cadonici as the first story in the collection is an ingenious move as it lets the reader know exactly what to expect from the comic in their hands. The story has a mystery running through it, peppered with acts of disturbing violence. The psychologically upsetting first page turns into a visually disturbing second page before leading onto the central character, one who wouldn’t be out of place in a modern EC comic. This comic is a relentless string of expertly crafted horror stories that even a bad pun ending can’t derail.
Credit: BOOM! Studios
The beauty of this format is that there is room for different voices and different styles to inhabit the same space. Clinical, clean art can follow a one page charcoal drawing of a screaming face without it pulling the reader out of the comic. The expectation is that the page turns can take you anywhere, with a range of visuals to please, or not, as you go. Not every story will be pleasing. but with seven tales on offer, only one or two need to hit the mark to make the comic worthwhile. And Hello Darkness is definitely a must-read comic. It is an exceptional, experimental, anthology of horror stories. The inclusion of two serials is a clever move to make sure readers come back, but not a necessary one because this opening issue has something for everyone. At least, everyone who likes horror. If you’re not a horror fan, perhaps give this one a miss, but you will be missing out on an exciting anthology reading experience.
