Writers: Ethan S. Parker and Griffin Sheridan
Artist: Robert Quinn
Letters: John J. Hill
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 17th, 2024
After last issue’s insane events, with the evil entity from Rose’s dark childhood fantasy tales breaking through into our reality, Kill Your Darlings #5 pauses the story, flashing back to Rose’s mother Andrea and showing her story, which is equally as traumatic as Rose’s tale and filled with omens of what’s to come.
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The Story
To this point, we only saw Rose’s mother Andrea in brief glimpses, a woman trying to raise her daughter alone and struggling to pay the bills. But there always seemed to be something deeper and darker about her, and Kill Your Darlings #5 finally tells her backstory. The book starts with Andrea at school in an English class. Ironically, they’re discussing Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens’ book “Great Expectations”, an old woman who always wears a wedding dress because she was once jilted at the altar, and lives in a decrepit mansion with her daughter. Yep, it’s effective foreshadowing, but far from subtle. Andrea soon finds out she’s pregnant and things go downhill from there, ultimately leading to a tragedy that sets in motion her and Rose’s lives.
I enjoyed this exploration of Andrea’s past, you really feel for her, because she’s abandoned by her hideous boyfriend but instead of giving up, she doubles her efforts, working more hours and struggling to keep her home as her pregnancy keeps her sick and exhausted. When the tragedy happens in the climax of the issue, it’s nightmarish and we get more revelations on what’s happening with Rose in the present. It brings the events of the first four issues full circle and answers a few questions while creating new ones. I’ve been loving this series so far, it’s like a fusion of “I Hate Fairyland!” and the spine-tingling horror of Steve Niles’ books. Though we don’t get a continuation of the story this issue, it’s fine, because we get plenty of answers here and more insight into a character we barely got to see up until now. It sets the stage perfectly to drop us back into the main story next issue.
The Art
Robert Quinn’s art on Kill Your Darlings #5 is wonderfully detailed and his use of shadows enhances the eerie mood of the book. When the horrific moments come, he frames the panels in a way that you feel as off-kilter as the characters, and drives home the terror of the scene.
Final Thoughts
Kill Your Darlings #5 delivers a great horror story while filling in Rose’s mother’s background. It ties together all the hints that have been dropped in the series so far and perfectly sets up what’s to come. Recommended.