Writer: Tom King
Artist: Bilquis Evely
Colorist: Matheus Lopes
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artists: Bilquis Evely and Matheus Lopes; Lula Lotay; Elsa Charretier; Massimo Carnevale; Clay Mann; Walt Simonson and Laura Martin; Greg Smallwood
Publisher: Dark Horse
Price: $4.99
Release Date: March 13, 2024
Readers continue to discover Christopher Krieger Cole’s fantasy adventure stories and even undertake literary pilgrimages to his resting place in San Antonio, Texas. Scholars argue over the meaning behind the inscription on his grave marker and how it relates to his work. A journalist interviews the former governess of C.K. Cole's daughter, seeking new insights into the author's life and work. Can Lilith Appleton enhance his understanding of the man who wrote such memorable classics as "The Red Death of Othan the Vanquished”? Let’s grab our pens and notepads, leap into Helen Of Wyndhorn #1, and see what we can learn!
Story
In 1935, Lilith traveled to an inn near San Antonio to retrieve C. K. Cole's daughter Helen and bring her to her grandfather's estate. Upon arrival, Lilith discovered the staff had thrown her out. Lilith rescued her from a jail cell, procured the alcohol and cigarettes she desired, and funded a memorial to the author.
After a long train journey, Joseph greeted the women and drove them to Helen’s grandfather’s estate. Joseph and two cooks would attend to Helen and Lilith’s needs until Barnabas Cole’s return. While prim and proper, Lilith finds the butler cold and officious in Helen Of Wyndhorn #1. She seeks to tame Helen’s wild instincts, while Joseph is appalled by Helen's behavior and regards the young woman as little better than a beast. Lilith worries what Barnabas will say when he meets his granddaughter and discovers Lilith cannot control Helen.
Lilith may not like Joseph, but the butler’s disdain for his young charge is understandable. On their train journey, Helen enthused about being rich. But confined to the house and grounds, Helen steals wine from the cellar, finds a secluded nook, and spends the days drinking and napping. Night terrors often drive Helen from her lavish bedroom to Lilith’s small, plain chamber in the early morning hours.
Tom King shares insights into C.K. Cole's life through Helen's words and actions in Helen Of Wyndhorn #1. Christopher laughed off his brushes with death and likely spent any funds he earned on alcohol and cigarettes. Christopher let his daughter choose her amusements, even taking up smoking at age eleven. Once ensconced in the family mansion, Helen likens her father leaving home to a prison escape. Yet, if Christopher preferred life outside, why did he commit suicide? If he was unhappy, why didn’t he return home? Was it merely that Wyndhorn House lay three hundred miles from the nearest town? Or did Christopher suffer from the same night terrors as his daughter?
Art
The curly-haired man writes on his notepad while recording Lilith’s recollections on his portable cassette player. Lilith stares at the hardcover volume of Astonishing Stories of Mystery! Strips of tape adorn the spine of the book's creased paper cover. The floral pattern on the tablecloth echoes the barren tree limbs glimpsed through the kitchen windows. Yet neither equals the intricate web of wrinkles etched into Lilith’s face.
Bilquis Evely sketches Lilith’s recollections as Old Time magazine illustrations in Helen Of Wyndhorn #1. Steam trains rumble through the desert and cross bridges. Children play near fields guarded by barbwire fences, while dirt roads link the scattered buildings in San Antonio. Helen gazes at the angel adorning her father's memorial, then rises to caress its head. A turbulent sky greets a palace rising above the trees. The 1200-acre estate's gnarled and twisted trees invite Hobbits to nap between their exposed roots.
Matheus Lopes brings a vibrant color selection to Lilith's interview. While some colors of her recollections shine brightly, others have faded. Helen and Lilith gaze out of the train at a turquoise night sky, yet a gray-green cast falls upon darkened rooms in the family mansion. Brown woodwork merges with grey stone, gilded frames, and architectural features in Wyndhorn’s entry hall as yellow sunlight from the immense windows brightens the long, wide staircase, and the candelabra stands on the green-gray floor. Helen's red hair brightens chambers in the 173-room mansion, while brown woodwork and tan stone fill the labyrinthian hallways in Helen Of Wyndhorn #1.
Clayton Cowles brings large uppercase black letters to white dialogue balloons during Lilith’s interview in her kitchen. Dialogue from her past haunts ivory balloons, and the lowercase italicized transcript of her recollections fills pink scraps of paper. Abrasive sound effects help us feel Joseph’s distress when Helen breaks the end of a bottle to chug the fine wine. Immense roars overtake the final pages, revealing the source of Helen's Fright Nights.
Thanks to Dark Horse Comics for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Scarred by her past, a former governess recalls caring for a pulp-era author's daughter, meeting her rich and powerful grandfather, and discovering the monster that terrorized the family estate in Helen Of Wyndhorn #1.
Rating 8.5/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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