Authors: Luana Vergari and Doug Headline, from a story by Jean Ray; illustrated by Onofrio Catacchio
Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 64 colour pages
Publication: February 2024
Famous investigator Harry Dickson is just back in London after some well-deserved holidays, and already Scotland Yard are seeking his help again, for there are very strange events afoot. A famous heiress and writer, Delphina Cruikshank, has vanished from a locked house. The corpse of an executed murderer has disappeared … while the doctor who was autopsying him was murdered. And Mysterion, Miss Cruikshank’s new character, may not be entirely fictional!
My first thought on seeing the cover was "Sod it!" And the cover I had just drawn that looked exactly like this went in the waste heap. I swore when I saw the last panel😂😂 But that's comics. Funny old business.
From the outset everything is laid out for the reader . Rather like an old Sherlock Holmes story would be. People, places and incidents. Then throw in the mystery. As I read through I thought it was going to be hard to conclude this story without some very severe cuts along the way. I should have guessed; it's a two-parter. All very enjoyable and cinematic (we comic reviewers love to add "cinematic" because it makes us sound so intellectual) .
So story good and the art by Catacchio is nice, crisp and clean and there is, before the text introduction to Dickson and his history, a lovely splash illo; very atmospheric. And this is where I need to mention the colour work by Hiroyuki Ooshima who to be honest I had never heard of before (I know -shocking, right?) but he was born in Tokyo and now lives in France, most of his works have been published in Franco-Belgian format and not manga, and he also drew Spirou! See? reviews and education.
That last panel, as noted, brought a smile to my face -my sister thought I was going to vomit but I assured her that I was smiling. A first outing for what may be Cinebook's next big series.
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