Deliver Us From Evil #2 - Blood Moon Comics

DELIVER US FROM EVIL No. 2, June 2024

For those biblophiles who are able to withstand this comic’s relentless assault upon their senses, including as many expletives as one can probably muster within a “mature readers” only magazine, its conclusion certainly seems to be well worth the effort. In fact, once the Portal of the Pretender God is finally revealed in all its grotesque, ghoulish glory, along with the antagonist’s sacrilegious mission to “replace Jesus the lamb of God, for a wolf”, this book’s numerous plot-points all impressively click straight into place.

Beforehand however, Peter Breau’s penmanship hooks the audience with a series of mysterious scenes which hint at a truly dark journey being taken through time by an evil, heavily-cloaked coven. Just what the Illuminous One’s purpose is in either physically mutilating the corpse of “one of the most influential scientists” ever born, or just generally traumatising mankind with a plague of red-coloured frogs, harvest-eating locusts, and ferociously feral dogs isn't initially clear. But just as this 'disconnect' is about to become a tad frustrating, all becomes terrifyingly clear with Albert Einstein’s brain having been incorporated into the villain's aforementioned mechanical monstrosity, and the sheer scale of the immortal being’s machinations plainly there for all to see; “Only in the future could we change the past. Destiny awaits.”

Equally as engrossing though is the author’s handling of “the enigmatic Silent Violette”, whose origin story should genuinely create a sizeable amount of sympathy for the tragic-looking character. Furthermore, the writer cleverly casts doubt in the reader’s mind as to whether the facially-disfigured Nun actually even exists by having Constantine Lazar question whether his brief encounter with her in his hallway wasn’t just a figment of an alcohol-fuelled imagination. 

Undeniably helping to add to the palpable darkness of this comic’s storyline are the black and white layouts of Mattia Doghini. The illustrator appears particularly good at imbuing a certain level of seedy sleaziness to poor V’s past, as well as the threat of a chilling death to those panels featuring the hooded man behind all of this book’s bleaker moments. In addition, the artist’s marvellous splash page showing the scoundrel recovering Judas’ discarded silver coins and the Nazarene’s crown of thorns is wonderfully sketched, with the woven headpiece’s spikes simultaneously wrapping themselves around various historical personalities which the wicked wrongdoer has either compelled or ensnared to become his willing instruments.

 The regular cover art to "DELIVER US FROM EVIL" #2 by Stefano Cardoselli