When does obsession stop … and your life begin?
Creative Staff:
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Corin Howell
Colorist: James Devlin
Letterer: Clem Robins
What They Say:
Kathy realizes that the life she remembers might not be her own – while Hugh’s gruesome companion is urging him on to murder again … with Kathy and another innocent soul as his primary targets.
Content (please note that portions of review may contain spoilers):
Hugh Lansky was the man who started this fantastical journey and now fifty years later he is still cursed by the results of his decision: at Sheepshead Bay he took the life of a young Katherine Angela Sartori and now he must live with that guilt and confusion. Even in the present day, he is haunted by an amorphous phantasm of insanity, with memories of her sinking down into the depths of the water, life’s blood seeping away as her face drifted into peaceful slumber. It is only then does he wake from the nightmare, remembering it all as if it was a warped memory … or was it – for she is alive and he still tormented by vivid madness. Although he once again murdered the elder incarnation of that girl, the one which haunts his waking dreams is the Kathy which he stabbed so long ago, troubled by conflict as to what really happened. She too cannot make sense of this amalgam of past and present, startling herself awake in the bath as spectral idol Winston stirs painful thoughts through song of being out place and time.
Even as Hugh muses over how this single act isolated him from society, his family and resulted in a fractured psyche, Kathy is determined to piece together an explanation for what is happening, and the only way she hopes to understand is by talking to her doppelganger’s husband Kenneth. Although Winston warns her this may not be the wisest choice, she cannot hope to understand what is happening without some anchor to the current situation, even as memories of her elder self congeal within a muddled past. The life she could have had, the one which her killer watched from a distance as she married, had children and grandchildren and led a happy existence, all until this madness began and which he now envies for never being able to touch. And yet as Kathy tries to make a connection between her two lives, now posing as the daughter of lost sister Lizabeth, she cannot but feel sympathy for what they both lost – she what could have been and he with a partner which he dearly loved, they now begin to share a unique bond which cannot be explained. And it is made more profound when Kenneth shows this younger girl the painting which triggered such a harsh rejection, the beautiful ethereal which her older self called the Green Woman. How does this haunting image tie the two together … or is this person the key to the truth which separates them?
In Summary:
Even as I am enraptured by the captivating intrigue which is The Girl in the Bay, I cannot but ponder how writer J.M. DeMatteis is able to craft such a haunting tale of emotional depth which has me questioning reality and then sympathizing with Kathy so much that I am reduced to tears by the end of the issue. It is made all the more fascinating by the opening inclusion of Hugh’s tirades with his amorphous companion, a psychological sounding board which seems to be the manifestation of adjusting to seeing the girl he killed now alive in the present, trying to justify the murder and make sense of the development; but at the same time there is a clever equivalency in the following scene as Kathy herself recalls what happened, with teenage anger and rebellion intact she cannot but argue with her own phantasmal compass named Winston. Thus to see each character’s reactions with the tribulations of one event shows how different viewpoints color their reactions – killer and victim, both necessary for the moment but to have the latter survive presents a frighteningly unique perspective as to this emerging trial and the paranoia to follow. However the manner by which each person copes with the fallout is fascinating – although each succumbs to the sadness of what could have been, Kathy has the additional lifeline of the Green Woman; she is a beautifully caring figure who comforts her in the most dire of moments, although silent in speech before her very presence is welcoming as she soothes the frayed nerves of this wanderer, always giving Sartori courage to take another step forward when she is at her weakest, almost like a caring maternal spirit who will not leave her side. And while both vocally reject what is unfolding around them, it is our heroine who reaches out to those who have a relationship with her elder self and thus endears the audience with her heartfelt sincerity for both Kenneth and Jenny. After all, how can you not but smile and cry seeing the interaction between this trio – the man who she never met and yet feels such genuine love and the little girl who she scared in their first meeting and now has an almost Big Sister connection. This is how you make the reader care for characters, not with hatred but endearing emotion and moments like this which create empathy when people are at their most vulnerable … knowing something wicked is just around the corner.
Although the narrative may have become the foundation for this rousing story, it is the excellence of Corin Howell’s illustrations which project the provocative nuances of the characters themselves, allowing the reader to become enthralled within their exploration of a foreign world. I admire how she opens the issue for both Hugh and Kathy with the same scene from the premiere: our heroine slowly watching her life draining away and the peace of death slowly greets her, only to rouse our emotions with a different persona … disgust or harmonious rapture. This is where James Devlin’s enticing colors make such a gratifying difference – while both characters greet us with the calmness of an aquamarine environment tinged with crimson, it drastically shifts to smothering hues of a sickeningly subdued palette for Hugh enveloped within his self imposed depression or continues with the calming effect of the watery atmosphere, made all the more welcoming with the continued gentleness of those serene colors. It is this dramatic separation of temperament via tonal signals which creates such a moving visual display, to have these two distinct viewpoints makes for a more stirring tale, and this, in turn, allows for the distinctness within the same artistic style.
However the most enlightening page would have to be Kathy stirring from her bath: the naked young woman rising from a wake in the water, almost as if this Howell’s interpretation of Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus – an innocent waking from a literal rebirth and looked upon by the divine Green Woman in the mirror. While this scene may not be strictly seen as this event, it can become the core for Sartori’s new outlook in seeking answers, going to Kenneth in an attempt to connect with her elder self and understand the difference in her new life. And yet the selfishness of Hugh to have happiness only for himself, the ugliness of his jealousy creates a tangible atmosphere thanks to Devlin’s oppressive colors, to be chased away once we are greeted once again by the heartfelt serenity of Kathy’s guardian angel. It is this tenuous struggle between struggling personalities, suffocating vileness versus confused acceptance which makes the story so epically stirring, allowing for the synergy of emotive images and evocative colors to create within the reader a sense of struggle, knowing only one side will tragically win in the end.
Just when you think The Girl in the Bay has no more surprises, this wondrous team is able to unveil moving moments which keep us entertained and intrigued for the length of the issue. And while we are enclosed within the rise and fall of these two diametrically opposed characters, one cannot deny it is their struggle against acceptance which keeps us captivated to learn who will win in the end, if either does fully succeed. Even as watching the ebb and flow of emotions is amusing, it is the nuances of the contest which will keep us yearning for the conclusion, all as we struggle to deny the chase has nearly come to a memorable end.
Grade: A+
Age Rating: Mature Readers
Released By: Dark Horse Comics/Berger Books
Release Date: April 03, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
