Changing the world with art in a very different way.
Creative Staff:
Story: Dan Watters
Art: Kishore Mohan
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
What They Say:
As the 20th century dawns, art promises to change the world…and steep it in blood. A rash of impossible killings sweep through Paris, tearing the rich and beautiful apart in their beds. When two art thieves stumble upon the portraits of the victims damaged in the exact same manner they died, it appears the man who once painted the immortal portrait of Dorian Gray has returned—with darker plans for future works. From the minds of Dan Watters (Coffin Bound, Lucifer, Home Sick Pilots) and Kishore Mohan comes a haunting balance of depravity and beauty.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
A new entry in the Nightfall imprint of horror books released this year from Vault, The Picture of Everything Else is a very welcome entry in it across the board. Written by Dan Watters, it takes us to the final few years of the 1800s when change was afoot and fear of a new century was making a lot of things unstable and uncertain. Watters is perfectly paired here with Kishore Mohan handling the art duties and color design as it leans into a more painted style at times than traditional visual design, and that works to fit the theme of the project well. Mohan captures the period really well, while knowing when to go for minimal background designs in order to focus on characters, and the end result feels like it’s very much a proper period piece that can only be expanded upon.
The premise introduces us to the pair of Marcel and Alphonse, painters who are seeing that some of their world is about to be overtaken by the world of photography. During one gathering we see the controversy about how the ornate frames of beautiful artwork are now being used to frame large photographs and it feels very wrong to many of them while others see it as the future that will wipe out artwork entirely. It’s a nice contrast and showing the different views of it really clicks. There’s a lot of high society tidbits mixed in that keeps it interesting but discovering that the pair had basically snuck in to be a part of a party means they’re now being chased out and having to deal with the thrill and fear of that. To make matters worse. Alphonse has stolen a small statue from the house which ends up upsetting Marcel, causing them to not go back home together.
And that sets the stage for the darkness that comes as while back at the loft and lamenting what happened, Marcel is visited by Dupree only to see Dupree’s body split in half bloodily in front of him after a bit of conversation. This puts him on the path of darkness, with the police never going to believe him with what happened and discovering that a mysterious Englishman that has set up shop in the area may be involved. A whole library of violent paintings that are torn apart and bloody, just like Dupree was torn apart, makes it so that both men are able to figure it all out quickly – a welcome moment of not being stupid and instead being intuitive – realize what this mysterious Englishman is and just how much he has them now as he can simply paint them to death. That it leads to self-sacrifice – seemingly – only makes it more haunting.
In Summary:
Magic and art go back a very long way and a title like this really hits a sweet spot on multiple levels. I like the concept and how it can be approached, I’m glad to see another book exploring anything in the past rather than just in the present, and I love the visual design of everything here. It’s got a great look in how it’s illustrated and colored and the flow of the panels to tell the tale. Watters has a solid idea here and interesting characters from the start forced into hard choices while Mohan’s artwork is just fantastic through and through. It’s a great pairing that results in a strong opening book with a lot of potential.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Vault Comics
Release Date: December 23rd, 2020
MSRP: $3.99
