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A review by evgeniya
Penny Dreadful Vol. 1: The Awaking by Chris King
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
i was so happy to see that this wasn't a retelling of the first three seasons and we will actually get some new story here, just for them to disappoint me once again. and i thought the finale was bad enough.
i'm not saying this was all bad, i actually enjoyed a good majority of this comic. the artstyle is so much better than the one in the prequel too, it doesn't look like they took the pictures of the actors/the stills from the show and just drew over them, but you can still tell exactly who is who. i really enjoyed how everyone and everything was drawn here. and the story was still consistent, even with vanessa gone, everything was still about her and the two brothers battling for the world. the thing that i enjoyed the most was definitely the character interactions, but that also wasn't new, that's what i always end up enjoying the most. i was so happy to see lyle rejoin the rest of the crew, and to have sir malcolm and cat working and fighting side by side once again (i really enjoy their dynamic), and ethan going to therapy and learning how to control his wolf instead of his wolf controlling him. that was all amazing. lily's story, on the other hand, left me feeling a little unsatisfied. i'm not sure how i feel about it exactly. like, her being a soldier of christ? when in the world did that happen? but also, the mother superior seemed to know her by the name of brona, so there's history there. she said she was the one who picked brona off the streets, but i swear, this is my first time hearing any of this. as much as lily talked about her life as brona, i don't remember her EVER mentioning the church. so that was... interesting. we'll see how i feel about it down the road, but for now it just feels so random. like they didn't know what else to do with her character. also, i missed the creature and dorian, but maybe we'll get to see them in the next two volumes. and maybe more of jekyll, he was so underused in the show, and i would hate for him to just fade into the background.
as i was reading the volume, i was so convinced that they wouldn't let lucifer come to the mortal plane, especially if it meant that he would have to possess vanessa's body. i was so sure they wouldn't do that, that they would protect her and let her finally rest in peace. but of course not. her body just has to keep getting violated, even after her death. and that just pissed me the fuck off, i'm not even going to lie. the way her character keeps getting treated is aggravating and just so fucking devastating. i just want her to be left alone, i am so tired.
and not only that, they fucking killed sir malcom as well! ripped his heart right out of his chest, like it was nothing! i knew there were death flags, with the way he was bonding with ethan and actually called him his son, and ethan ended up calling him his father as well (this man and his father figures, i swear), so i had a feeling something would happen. but i didn't think they'd go that far, and that just shocked and pissed me off. was that really necessary? why did i decide to read these damn comics, it's as if the finale of the show wasn't enough for me... i'm not sure what i was expecting.
i'm not saying this was all bad, i actually enjoyed a good majority of this comic. the artstyle is so much better than the one in the prequel too, it doesn't look like they took the pictures of the actors/the stills from the show and just drew over them, but you can still tell exactly who is who. i really enjoyed how everyone and everything was drawn here. and the story was still consistent, even with vanessa gone, everything was still about her and the two brothers battling for the world. the thing that i enjoyed the most was definitely the character interactions, but that also wasn't new, that's what i always end up enjoying the most. i was so happy to see lyle rejoin the rest of the crew, and to have sir malcolm and cat working and fighting side by side once again (i really enjoy their dynamic), and ethan going to therapy and learning how to control his wolf instead of his wolf controlling him. that was all amazing. lily's story, on the other hand, left me feeling a little unsatisfied. i'm not sure how i feel about it exactly. like, her being a soldier of christ? when in the world did that happen? but also, the mother superior seemed to know her by the name of brona, so there's history there. she said she was the one who picked brona off the streets, but i swear, this is my first time hearing any of this. as much as lily talked about her life as brona, i don't remember her EVER mentioning the church. so that was... interesting. we'll see how i feel about it down the road, but for now it just feels so random. like they didn't know what else to do with her character. also, i missed the creature and dorian, but maybe we'll get to see them in the next two volumes. and maybe more of jekyll, he was so underused in the show, and i would hate for him to just fade into the background.
as i was reading the volume, i was so convinced that they wouldn't let lucifer come to the mortal plane, especially if it meant that he would have to possess vanessa's body. i was so sure they wouldn't do that, that they would protect her and let her finally rest in peace. but of course not. her body just has to keep getting violated, even after her death. and that just pissed me the fuck off, i'm not even going to lie. the way her character keeps getting treated is aggravating and just so fucking devastating. i just want her to be left alone, i am so tired.
and not only that, they fucking killed sir malcom as well! ripped his heart right out of his chest, like it was nothing! i knew there were death flags, with the way he was bonding with ethan and actually called him his son, and ethan ended up calling him his father as well (this man and his father figures, i swear), so i had a feeling something would happen. but i didn't think they'd go that far, and that just shocked and pissed me off. was that really necessary? why did i decide to read these damn comics, it's as if the finale of the show wasn't enough for me... i'm not sure what i was expecting.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Gore
Minor: Sexual content