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| THE TWILIGHT ZONE: SHADOW & SUBSTANCE No. 2, February 2015 |
Whilst this second issue of “The Twilight Zone: Shadow And
Substance” may well live up to its title’s aspiration for dark morbid thoughts
and gloominess. Its storyline is unfortunately devoid of any thought-provoking significance or importance. Indeed this conclusion to “Stumbling
Distance” is a disappointingly shallow read, which fails to either address or
build upon the tension and mystery of the two-parter’s previous edition.
Admittedly there are still some nice touches to Mark Rahner’s writing. William Gaunt
almost day-dreaming as he watches his younger self ‘playfully prank’ his (presumably
now long-deceased) Grandpa by turning on a water hose is a satisfyingly sentimental
gesture which many readers, suddenly put in the position of being able to see
long-lost loved ones a final time, will probably relate to. His excitement at
entering his old bedroom, wall-to-wall with super-hero magazines, posters and
drawings, is also something which comic book collectors must regularly
fanaticise about experiencing.
But unfortunately that is it as far as any
seemingly genuine investment of feeling into the central character goes. An interesting
predicament considering the book’s author stressed prior to this periodical’s
publication that he was not “interested in lazy nostalgia.” Yet this is arguably
precisely what he has written.
Gaunt also knows full well how badly his Mother
hurt him emotionally as a youth; why else would he have tried to commit suicide
as a boy? Yet when he confronts her upon her doorstep in an effort to make her
“understand what you’re doing to him” the time-traveller limits himself to a
simple “Shape up. Get yourself straight. Look after him” speech. This woman’s
neglect and behaviour towards him caused the man to once try and end his life,
and that is all he has to say to her? Where’s the anger, the fury, the fire in
the belly towards her which surely has built up over the years since his failed
attempt to slit his wrists?
Most regrettable however has to be the book’s
ending, which is illogical or at best dubiously questionable. Gaunt knows his
younger self will survive his self-harm and in fact use that pain, anxiety and
frustration to not only become a successful writer but also, as the story
constantly shows, a caring, sympathetic and kind adult. So why would he steal a
car, become presumably penniless and encourage self-evaporation in order to
stop the boy from doing something “dumb”?
This supposed “new extension of the
Twilight Zone mythos” is additionally underwhelming as a result of some quite
simply terrible drawings by Edu Menna. If the awkward-looking, frankly ugly and
rather robotic looking characters are examples of the ‘artistic freedom’ Nick
Barrucci, Publisher of “Dynamite Entertainment”, has apparently given the
Mexican illustrator, then the company’s CEO needs to have a little rethink.
Certainly Menna’s uninspiring pencils, let down by some equally lack-lustre
colouring by Thiago Ribbeiro and Impacto Studios, are incapable of delivering
the “all-new thrills” promised when news regarding this title was first released.
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| The regular cover art of "THE TWILIGHT ZONE: SHADOWS & SUBSTANCE" No. 2 by Guiu Vilanova |
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