The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #2 Review
Writer: Chris Condon
Artist & Colorist: Jacob Phillips
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover Artists: Jacob Phillips, Christopher Mitten & Leandro Fernández
Back Matter Designer: Michael Tivey
Editors: Matthew Levine & Chris Conroy
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99/$4.99 Card Stock
Release Date: March 25, 2026
In November 1941, the United States stood on the brink of another world war, but no one realized it yet. Ezra Cain gave up a career in archaeology and anthropology to protect his country in the last great war. Now, the ex-cop is a private detective. James Sweet, the Collections and Acquisitions Manager at the American Museum of Natural History, wants Ezra to recover an artifact discovered by his university mentor. What is the Anvil of Hephaestos? And why do Mussolini and Hitler want it so badly? Let’s leap into The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #2 and see!
Story
A friend from his NYPD days asked Ezra to help an immigrant find her missing husband. Ezra’s usually a stickler for getting paid, but he can’t say no to Mack. And when Ezra forgets their appointment, he frightens the poor woman when he mistakes her for a thief. After that, he can’t say no to Mrs. Rachel Meyer. Still, Ezra needs to know what type of man he’s trying to find, especially as Karl Meyer was the guard who vanished the same night as the Anvil of Hephaestos disappeared.
Ezra’s university mentor recommended Ezra to James Sweet. So, after learning more about the missing nightwatchman, Ezra sets off to learn more about the missing artifact. Unlike the action-packed shootout when Ezra recovered something Mr. Trask wanted, The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #2 opens with a brace of inquiries. Yet compared with his evening gumshoe-and-client Q&A in Ezra's office, the second takes place during the day. John Morris tells Ezra how he discovered the Anvil of Hephaestos in 1913, and why he thinks ideological world leaders want it. The men took different paths in life. Still, an air of easy camaraderie fits their reunion like a favorite sweater.
In Chris Condon’s story, John Morris may be older and walk with a cane. Yet Ezra's life has clearly aged him. His sense of duty and continual search for adventure leave Ezra tired. Nights blend into days, and days into nights, as the private detective uses any opportunity to investigate these interlinked mysteries. While Ezra’s determination to crack both cases yields greater mysteries, it could also cost him his life in The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #2.
Art
As they speak in his dark office, the desk lamp casts Ezra's shadow on the wall. When Rachel shows him a photograph of her and her husband in New York Harbor, Ezra sits down and leans forward. Yet he keeps his typewriter before his chest, while Rachel Meyer clutches her purse to her abdomen. When she closes her eyes, Rachel remembers silhouettes and imagines the meeting her husband attended. In an era when photos were precious, Rachel shows Ezra a postcard of her husband’s workplace.
While Jacob Phillips paints this tense night encounter yellow, orange, and red, Mrs. Meyer wears a blue jacket. Toffee colors her face and stains the office wall as Ezra studies her postcard. By comparison, shades of beige and blue shine brightly when Ezra meets with his university mentor on the beach. The tonal changes of the land and sky evoke watercolors, while white sparkles in the sea hint at the sun's radiance. Likewise, green and red brighten the professor's cottage. Yet black creeps into the background when John Morris shares his fears in The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #2.
Black uppercase letters that grow bold for intonation fill off-white balloons. Raised voices and heightened emotions enlarge words while deforming balloons and arrows. Smaller lowercase letters accompany lowered voices and may appear as off-white letters against a dark background. The sharp sound effects that slice through a nightmare change shape as Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou welcomes Ezra back to his adventurous life of Hammett dreams. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
Ezra's thrill-seeking behavior has helped him live a fuller life than his university mentor. Yet despite Ezra's efforts to make the world a safer place, society seems to be coming apart at the seams. And as the private detective seeks answers to his latest cases, he discovers why he should have stayed in school and learned more about the hidden dangers threatening his world in The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #2.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see my preview of The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #2.
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