Mazebook #3

Mazebook #3

Dark Horse Comics 2021

By Jeff Lemire

Lettered by Steve Wands

Will's a melancholy building inspector who's been grieving the loss of his puzzle-loving daughter for years. After getting a mysterious phone call from a girl claiming it's her and that she's trapped in a labyrinth Will sets off on a journey fighting through the corridors, tunnels, and monsters of his city on a mission to bring her back home.

With each issue of this that comes out we fall deeper down the rabbit hole alongside Will and instead of being frightened or uneasy we find some kind of odd solace in this descent into madness. I love that this is so ordinary in how we see Will and his story unfold through his grief and what that does to him, his mind and his sanity. So convinced that he’s on the right path to finding his daughter he’ll stop at nothing to follow the clues and find out what exactly is happening. It is touching, sweet, endearing and yet so full of melancholia and his situation feels lugubrious at best. The empathy that Jeff manages to create between Will and the reader is utterly magnificent and we root for him to be on the right track to be reunited with the daughter whose face he can no longer remember.

I’m such a fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exquisitely. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter really does this magnificent job in showcasing these always evolving personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story the more the lines between reality and fantasy become ever blurred.

I’m very much enjoying the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I’m also liking the way that these layers keep opening up new avenues to be explored. These avenues like the one leading him onward of his next door neighbour do wonders in adding such depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are immaculately handled.

The interiors here are absolutely bloody stunning. The mood, tone and feel that are created by the work we see is integral to how we see the story. Then there’s the attention to detail and in moments like the map where you have to wonder how much time and effort were needed in bringing that to life. The linework is scratchy and interesting and somehow it really captures the essence of the characters. Seeing backgrounds as we do enhance and expand the moments exponentially and I wish they were in every panel. Still, how we see the composition within the panels bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is positively wonderful. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a brilliant eye for storytelling. That majority of this is in sepia tones means when we do see colour it pops more brilliantly and has that sense of impact it’s supposed to.

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There is something irresistible about the story that once you start it there’s no turning back, no putting it down and no getting it out of your system. There’s this brilliant mix of hope, fear and one man’s maddening quest to uncover the truth at any cost. With such brilliant writing and stunning characterisation that’s wrapped up in these beautifully bespoke interiors that once under its spell you don’t want to break it.