Posted in: Comics | Tagged: billie piper, Chris King, dracula, eva green, frankenstein, jekyll and hyde, jesus hervas, josh hartnett, penny dreadful, showtime, timothy dalton, Titan comics, werewolves

Penny Dreadful #2.6 Review: Hemorrhaging Dialogue And Cliches Abound

Lily and Ethan prepare to deal with the forces of Hell itself, and, to do so, they must find Dracula and make use of an ancient weapon which he alone possesses.

Meanwhile, Lucifer, possessing the body of Vanessa Ives, prepares to begin his quest for dominance by calling upon every vile instinct which humanity possesses. He also calls upon an old pact with Dorian Gray.

Sedna and Kaetenay are assaulted aboard a boat in the chaos.

Frankenstein and Jekyll prepare to resurrect Sir Malcolm, but Catriona is in touch with Malcolm's spirit and knows a better way to seek his aid.

The show Penny Dreadful was fun but flawed. Using the Victorian/Gothic era horror to paint something of a shared universe (not too unlike League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) is a fun idea. Timothy Dalton and Eva Green are great actors, and Josh Hartnett arguably put in the best performance of his career on the show.

Continuing that show to put together a Biblical apocalypse wherein Miss Ives turns out to be the Lilith of the Apocrypha seems like a logical extension of the series.

Unfortunately, the dialogue in this story is pretty bad and impossible to ignore. It uses clichés as much as it uses reference to Gothic horror.

Penny Dreadful #2.6 implies that Lucifer is trying to start World War I, which has become a bizarre fixture of stories taking place in the late 19^th Century (see also Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows).

They make Dracula a part of Lucifer's fall from grace. I get it; everyone likes to tack on their pre-Stoker origin story for Dracula. There's been everything from Vlad the Impaler to Judas Iscariot, but this one feels like it's trying a bit too hard.

Dorian Gray feels a bit out of character too. He is too submissive and is unhappy with his current existence, both of which feel very unlike him.

The art is pretty solid, with its washed-out and shadow-heavy style. It looks quite good, and the color work is appropriately grim. Jesus Hervas and Jason Wordie put in some admirable work in this comic.

Unfortunately, the clichés, the weak recreations of the characters, and the abysmal dialogue make Penny Dreadful #6 a pretty dire book. This one does not earn a recommendation. Give it a pass.

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