Dylan Dog #456, Colui che divora le ombre - Bilotta and Roi

When a 9 year old child turns up at 7 Craven Road talking of his fear of a monster in his closet, investigator of the paranormal Dylan Dog is understandably sceptical. Having seen all kinds of horrors in his time though, he says he will think about it further. When his assistant Groucho tells him that the boy left behind payment of £10,000, it spurs him to consider that the boy's fears and his call for help are genuine. Timothy Scare is clearly haunted by something, but rather than leap into battle fighting monsters, Dylan takes a more measured and cautious approach. Advisory almost, seeking to find the source of the boy's troubles.

It's not difficult to see where those might lie. Timothy's parents are dead, victims of what lies in the wardrobe. A wealthy family with a manservant who looks after the boy in their stead, Christopher also has doubts about the boy's nightmares, but recognises that Timothy is a sensitive child with few friends who is bullied at school. Christopher thinks he needs to be able to confide in an appropriate adult, but whether you can apply that to Dylan Dog, who Timothy describes as “lui è l’indagatore dell’ incubo! Libera le persone dalle cose malvagie che le perseguitano” who “uccide i mostri" (an investigator of nightmares who frees people from the evil that pursues them and kills monsters) is hardly likely to provide reassurance to his teacher Miss Baxter.

There are a few textbook issues here in the case of a sensitive child of a certain age struggling with demons. There are many kinds of monsters and the story does play along an ambiguous line over whether Timothy is just suffering from nightmares because of his tormentors at school and the loss of his parents, whether the nightmares feel real to him or whether they are indeed spilling out of his subconscious into the real world. What is effective in how this is presented is the superb treatment of the script by Alessandro Bilotta and the artwork of Corrando Roi.

Roi's strong black and white artwork is not cartoony, not manga influenced as many modern comics tend to be, nor is it American comic influenced or in the standard classic European style. Or at least not in the conventional US or European style, but perhaps a little reminiscent to my mind of Chris Bachalo in the sketchy detail of the faces, the dark chiaroscuro contrast adding to the mood. Roi works within the general six panel format, with occasional longer four panel pages but more often five panels with a wide scene at the bottom of the page. 

It appears to be a deliberate attempt to contain everything within this a strict order, an austere layout with little movement within the panels. Figures stand, sit and talk, the monster sequences looking like frozen moments of horror. It's striking and coldly effective, creating a tangible mood that has something of a Sandman quality, with Dylan fulfilling that role of experienced elder here, the indagatore of dreams and nightmares rather than the more tangible monsters we see him face more often.

Reading notes: Dylan Dog #456 - Colui che divora le ombre (He who devours the shadows), is the September 2024 edition of the monthly newstand eition of the series published by Sergio Bonelli Editore in Italy. This issue is written by Alessandro Bilotta with art from Corrando Roi. Basically, this is holiday reading for me, picked up while in Italy, along with any other issues still on the newstands. It is difficult to get new issues of Dylan Dog, so an affordable subscription for this excellent series for readers outside of Italy would be very welcome.