To The Last Page

If you read a lot of David Mark’s writing (I'm counting 17 reviews so far on this blog), you'll notice that there are some common features that crop up now and again. There are a few here in Cages , notably a rather seedy but talented writer or journalist who has hit hard times ( Still Waters , Darkness Falls ) seeking another shot at success (which sounds like it is based not so much on a self-deprecating self-image as self-flagellating one). Pit this journalist or similar flawed character up against a criminal who exhibits the worst impulses of humanity and you have a very dark and volatile situation, the kind that David Mark revels in, but without repeating himself, just plunging deeper. Which doesn't make his crime thrillers an easy read, but there are still few to match his insights into those dark places. A flawed but inquisitive character running up against a rather disturbing killer is there in Cages and the balance is a good one, with a slight variation on the th...

Some people are just magnets for trouble and Dylan Dog is definitely one of them, thankfully I suppose, as otherwise there wouldn't be an adventure for us every month. It wouldn't be entirely correct then to say that what happens in Il sonno della ragione (The Dream of Reason) is the strangest thing to happen to him (you need only look back at Dylan Dog 153 - La strada verso il nulla for example), but with the Edvard Munch inspired cover (why not Goya?) you have to consider that there is something in Il sonno della ragione that pushes him to the limit this time. It all starts when Dylan discovers an extremely thin entirely naked woman lying in an alley close to his home. It looks like a case of a drug overdose, but something strange passes through Dylan when he lifts her up to take her to the hospital. Even stranger is what Dr Oldbright discovers when the woman is put through a CT scan. The entire left hemisphere of her brain has been removed, and not recently either. As wel...

The original story for Dylan Dog 153, La strada verso il nulla (The Road to Nowhere), was developed by Italian crime writer Carlo Lucarelli ( Commissario De Luca ), the final script adapted by the creator of the series, Tiziano Sclavi. It's a classic horror tale, following the logic of a nightmare that feels impossible to escape from, touching on the usual horror movie references, but fully retaining the character of Dylan Dog with a self-referential tone not uncommon in Sclavi’s series. It's a classic Dylan Dog story, working in multiple levels, dark and reflective, touching and humorous, recognising the conventions and playing with them, and it's brilliantly illustrated. Dylan has just been dumped by his latest girlfriend, Louanne, despite Dylan believing they have had an ideal relationship for the whole month they were together (the maximum allotted time for a romantic relationship in this monthly series). It's an acrimonious breakup, the end of the road for them as...