In search of a fresh start, teenager Cheyenne Collins and her mother, Rebecca, move to St. Augustine, Florida, where they cross paths with Jean McKnight, a disgraced big-city journalist determined to pay her dues and rebuild her career. Very Minor Spoilers Ahead
Cover by Kelsey RamsayWritten by Che Grayson
Illustrated by Kelsey Ramsay
Colored by Ronda Pattison
Lettered by Shawn LeeAs Cheyenne and Rebecca settle into their new life of owning and running a diner, Jean is preparing her fluff piece on the town’s 450th anniversary celebration, and a growing amount of dread, negativity, and eventually bloodshed all come about soon after their arrival. When a violent, and deadly act occurs with Cheyenne as the only witness, Jean pivots to investigating the town’s colonial past, entangling all three women in a supernatural conspiracy.
“Dark Spaces: Good Deeds” #1 is all about upheaval and turmoil. Life changes, job changes, locale changes. A little of the good with the bad. Anxiety and hope mix in anticipation for what’s next. Unfortunately for Rebecca and Cheyenne Collins, and Jean McKnight, their anxieties over what is next in their lives is quite founded when it comes to their arrival in St. Augustine. Opening up this first issue with some spooky and quite horrific imagery leading us from a dream (vision?) into Jean McKnight’s darkened bedroom as she realizes she is running late for an appointment captures a classic horror story opening that immediately puts both the character, and the reader, on our back heel. What’s happening? Was that real? A dream? We are just as uneasy as Jean is in the moment, and going from that to the rushed discomfort of being late for something important, writer Che Grayson (“Secrets of Sinister House”) knows to put us in a bad spot right from jump, and it works.
Due to McKnight somehow disgracing herself with a past article, she is now struggling to find work, and more importantly respectable and well paying work. When a former colleague, Ben, now a managing editor, decides to give her a second chance based on their history and her reputation, he gives her a nice and easy fluff piece to start with. The town of St. Augustine, Florida is about to celebrate their 450th anniversary. Everything about this points to an easy trip and an easy paycheck, and could possibly lead to something even bigger while she is there, but we already know things are off.
The story shifts, somewhat abruptly to Rebecca and Cheyenne, mother and daughter, respectively. They are also heading to St. Augustine, but planning for the long haul. They’ve just purchased a vacant and mightily run down diner that they’re looking to refurbish and run themselves. A fresh start in a new town with a new business that is all their own. It’s a really nice and uplifting narrative, that is until some mean-spirited, skeevy, and downright terrifying interactions happen by the time this issues closes out. If it weren’t for the blatant hint at the supernatural at the beginning of this issue, this story reads like any other character drama with hints at bad things just starting to get their dirty fingernails into the hopeful nature of these characters. Grayson perfectly aims these three women of color at a small Podunk town in Florida. That combination is enough to craft tension, but as we start to see by the final moments, and I’m sure will be heavily explored in the future, there is more to this than just a bunch of racist and angry rednecks.
All of the elements at play in this comic have been done before, countless times, but it is Grayson’s natural ability of creating not only believable people inhabiting this world, but realistic dialogue that connects to the various levels of drama and horror on display, but also the simplistic, every day, moments on each and every page. The writing is excellent and that elevates anything that feels overplayed. And to be fair, the clichés and small southern town stereotypes are all part of the narrative, playing key roles like any fable, rather than getting used as an easy way out of a hole they have written themselves into. It’s a strong and interesting story from start to finish that holds back on many reveals and ideas that could have easily been used up front to pull in readers. Instead, Grayson is patient and gives us just enough with the cliffhanger ending to have us dying to read the next issue.
Continued belowThe art in this book is drawn by the immensely talented Kelsey Ramsay (“Joan Jett and the Black Hearts: Bad Reputation/I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”). She is still breaking into the comic book scene, but her work speaks for itself. Highly detailed, with the ability to be completely tight and buttoned up with a sketchy, loose style all its own. Her influences feel like they are oozing from every single panel, but her work stands on its own enough so that no single one is immediately obvious. It’s a beautiful, gritty, and scary book that moves between the upsetting realities of our world and the world of the paranormal. With a book like this, one can only hope she snags as many comic book jobs as she can. Her style can traverse horror to superheroes, and everything in between.
I actually find it rare that a colorist is perfectly suited to match the illustrator’s work. It happens in a lot of books, but with so many comics in the world that exact synchronization is rare, but it’s happened here with Ramsay and colorist Ronda Pattison (“TMNT,” “X-Men,” “The Maxx”). Pattison is a long standing industry legend who has worked on an incredible amount of work. Being the most experienced creator on this book lends some gravitas and her talent is why those colors match with Ramsay’s work so beautifully. She is working in more subdued hues throughout this book, but with such a varied palette throughout, her work captures the tone and mood necessary for every single panel. It is a wonderful looking book, whether the scene is sweet or horrifying.
With the return of “Scott Snyder Presents: Dark Spaces,” “Good Deeds” #1 is an excellent starting point to this relaunch. Fans of horror and strictly dark dramatic tales should definitely be picking this one up.
Final Verdict: 8.5, A classic tale of creepy history found in the oldest towns of the United States that plays with universal human and horror themes while still tackling issues that feel so distinctly American, in the worst sense. We’ve seen it before, but we can always use fresh voices.
