Soul Plumber #2

Soul Plumber #2

DC Horror 2021

Written by Marcus Parks & Henry Zebrowski

Layouts by John McCrea & PJ Holden

Inked by John McCrea

Coloured by Mike Spicer

Lettered by Becca Carey

After stealing blueprints from the Soul Plumbers in an attempt to build an exorcism machine, Edgar Wiggins has instead opened a portal that has pulled a homicidal inter-dimensional being into our world that has not only left carnage in its wake, but has left Edgar questioning his faith.

Normally I’m not all that big on horror comedy or comedic horror or however you want to say it, the British do it alright with the dark, sarcastic and complete irony in the story. This for me also does it extremely well. There is something about Edgar that is just so pathetic and sad that you want to root for him while you are laughing at him and that’s not always the comedy part but some of what he says and does fall into the comedic realm. So basically he’s a loser but a lovable one who means well but he’s never been equipped with the skills needed in life to actually succeed. This is my take on him and god bless him for having such convictions and beliefs that make him act, do and behave the way he does.

I like 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 extremely well. 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 does a marvellous job in continuing to flesh out the personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story we are left wanting to see so much more.

I’m impressed with the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I really like how we see the layers within the story open up new avenues to be explored and how the cliffhanger ending opens up the biggest one there is. Whether or not all these avenues will be explored doesn’t matter because they all add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. The way that everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably achieved.

I am positively loving the interiors here. The linework is sensational and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality of detail within the work we see is astounding. I’d like to see more backgrounds being utilised, however, how we see the composition within the panels being utilised to create the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The creativity and imagination that we see is amazing and whether it is Indianapolis or some other dimension it all really helps bring this to life. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkable eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a remarkable eye for how colour works. There are some absolutely stellar moments that shine with colour and the effects they have on the work.

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This is something different, interesting and completely offbeat so much so that it entertains and engages the reader beautifully. Because of Edgar’s passion and his desire to be more than he is had led him to this place we currently find him. With some sharp witty writing and great characterisation align with these dynamic interiors we are treated to this dark comedy horror story.