Like the world that the characters are investigating, “And Then Emily Was Gone” is strange and unsettling at times. Off-the-beaten-path as it may be, it’s for that very reason that you’ll want to seek this one out.
Written by John Lees
Illustrated by Iain Laurie
Lettered by Colin BellAnd Then Emily Was Gone is a dark horror-mystery that tells the story of Greg Hellinger, a man who sees monsters. A former detective driven to the brink of madness by terrifying apparitions, he is tasked with finding a missing girl called Emily. Hellinger’s search takes him to a remote community in the Orkney Islands, where strange and terrible things are happening…
In this second chapter, Hellinger and Fiona begin to investigate Emily’s disappearance on the island of Merksay, with its highly eccentric locals and terrifying hidden places. Plus, we find out what’s in the box!
What’s in the box? What happened to Emily? What’s going on with our tortured central character? These are just a few of what seems like a dozen totally different mysteries that have little corners carved out in “And Then Emily Was Gone.” Though the title very matter-of-factly tells you what the central mystery of the series entails, there’s so much more going on in this book. Putting the pieces together are going to end up being much of the fun, I’m sure, but at this point the series has presented a challenging and disparate narrative filled with the horrifying and supernatural.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the various events within this pages tie together, because there are a few different story lines being juggled around right now. They’re all compelling and disturbing in their own way, but it’s unclear how they all link together. That’s how mysteries sometimes work and while the plots don’t necessarily feel invested in one another at this point, they’re all interesting enough on their own so that there’s not a particularly weak spot. While the abstract and surreal nature of the storytelling may defy clarity at times, we’re experiencing these horrid events as the characters themselves are.
Much of the power of the always disturbing, sometimes outright disgusting sequences comes from the art of Iain Laurie. Laurie has an unconventional style that befits a story where nearly everyone, and the setting itself, is an oddball. Our desperate, psychologically oppressed hero is not a handsome brooding man. He’s a plain-looking man, who is genuinely unkept and disheveled by the unfortunate circumstances of his life right now. “And Then Emily Was Gone” is full of intentionally weird and off-putting places, people, and things, and Laurie’s art captures it all gorgeously in the most unconventional sense of the word. The art isn’t a technical marvel, but it is expressive and fluid and the perfect choice for a book that clearly doesn’t want to be like anything else or in the mainstream.
Laurie shows an incredible sense of panel creativity, especially when the creep-factor gets dialed up. Panels contort and blend into one another to signify nightmarish visions and supernatural events. Perspectives are chosen to highlight the most horrific bits and put them at the forefront. Grotesqueries unimaginable inhabit these pages. Thanks to Laurie’s terrific art playing within the strange rules of Lees’ story, we can be sure that whatever happened to the titular “Emily” is probably going to be horrifying in some way.
Fans of horror, especially the psychological kind, will find a lot to like in “And Then Emily Was Gone.” At the present, the plot is a little scattered, but readers who love an unconventional and difficult mystery can find many nooks and crannies to get into with this story. Lees and Laurie make sure that every sequence stands on its own as a compelling and creepy work, regardless of how it fits into the overall narrative at this point. Because of that careful attention to each sequence, the overall package is strong. “And Then Emily Was Gone” is the perfect comic for someone who wants to read something that dares to be different.
Final Verdict: 7.8 – Buy
