Creative Staff:
Story: Mark Sable
Art: Giorgio Pontrelli
Colors: Pippa Bowland
Letterer: Thomas Mauer
What They Say:
Skeptical Bureau of Investigation Agent Miranda Keller and true-believer detective Tom Malone are tasked by J. Edgar Hoover to investigate a series of bombings in 1920s New England. Traveling to the Arkham Asylum, the investigators discover their suspects aren’t just insane, but also undead. Who could be re-animating them?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Miskatonic hits that point for me at about the halfway mark of the series here where as it introduces more and more things, I’m becoming disconnected from it because there’s so much happening and so many characters to keep track of. Mark Sable is telling an interesting story as we’ve seen from the first two issues but, as a monthly series, it’s just becoming too complex to really figure out what’s what at this point. Giorgio Pontrelli has another great looking issue that showcases the weirdness of the town in a really great way and I definitely enjoy the character designs as they capture this time and place well, particularly with the outfits. More time with Miranda and Aesneth wouldn’t be a bad thing at all when you get down to it.
The reveal of the latest bombing having happened and the quick arrest of Professor Armitage is what sets the stage here as Tom is basically getting close to calling it all done and settled while Miranda knows there’s something more going on here. Of course, Tom’s just poking at her over Aesneth and what he saw previously between the two of them and is, generally speaking, a dick about it and everything else. To the point where it damages the character, I think. The two do work together well enough to check out the latest body but discovering that it’s just a pile of green goo and stuff doesn’t help, even though that’s a real clue. Both are basically believing overeager med students are swiping bodies ahead of time yet it’s obvious there’s something far more going on here.
While Miranda goes to question Aesneth again over things and to get some time with her, Tom heads off on his own investigation and this actually delighted me for non-story reasons. After spending as much time as they have been in Arkham, we get him heading to Bolton to do some questioning there. This town is basically a stone’s throw from where I live and while the town isn’t anything like it is today, of course, it’s just that fun weirdly surreal moment a lot of us get in seeing something close to our reality in our books. It doesn’t help Miskatonic at all from a reader’s standpoint as I’m left looking at the book trying to figure out what’s going on and why at this point.
In Summary:
I hate it when a book turns indecipherable. Something about Miskatonic just ended up in this place where it’s become complex and filled with so many characters that I’ve lost track of the plot and can’t reconnect with it. There are a lot of positives to be had with it, especially in the artwork and anything taking place in this time period with interesting characters like this, but it’s been able to feel cohesive from issue to issue and the plot has left me unsure of who is who and what we’re even doing anymore, especially with the green goo body remains.
Grade: C+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: January 20th, 2021
MSRP: $3.99