Comic Review: Penny Dreadful: The Awakening #2.1

Synopsis: The Awakening, Part 1 of 4- Ethan Chandler finds himself unable to move on. As he searches desperately for meaning in a world without Vanessa, ancient words echo across the centuries, and he is called on once again to take up arms against the creatures crawling out of the night! The sell-out and critically acclaimed comic series returns! Continues the story directly after the shocking events of Penny Dreadful’s season three TV finale! Features Ethan Chandler, Sir Malcolm Murray, Ferdinand Lyle and Lily!

Review: When Showtime and John Logan suddenly announced the end of Penny Dreadful, I took it with a pinch of vampire bat guano. Yes, Vanessa Ives’ story had come to an end. However, the supporting characters were left with unfinished business. Penny Dreadful: The Awakening #2.1 beautifully bore out my assumptions.

Writer Chris King deftly blended re-introductory exposition with forward momentum. Also, there’s a mummy! When Mr. Lyle exited to Egypt, many fans excitedly awaited Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lot 249 or Queen Te-Ra from Bram Stoker’s The Jewel of Seven Stars. Readers got an ancient necromancer named Belial, acolyte of Set. King continued the show’s existing mythology. With The Mother of Evil gone, the war between the two brothers wages on. For now, the comics will focus on the other brother, Set, or Lucifer.

Jesus Hervas‘ art was marvelous throughout. However, I loved the unapologetic Egyptian Gothic sequence within Belial’s tomb and Belial’s awakening rampage, because there’s a mummy!

Written by

Chris King

Art by

Jesus Hervas

Colored by

Jason Wordie

Cover by

Stephen Mooney

Published by

Titan Comics