Graphic Novel Review - Twisted Dark Volume 1 - Neil Gibson

Graphic Novel Review - Twisted Dark Volume 1 - Neil Gibson

Recommended for 18+

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks.

Anyone up for a dark and depressing collection of tales? Thought so!

Twisted Dark is well named; a collection of short horror stories written by Neil Gibson and illustrated by a revolving team of artists for British comic book publisher T Pub, this was originally released back in 2010 if what I've seen online is true. I might have missed it back then, but I'm damn pleased to have found it now, because this is a cracking little collection of stories that each deliver a chilling twist, in the same manner of Twisted Tales from Pacific/Eclipse Comics in the 1980s, which are some of my favourites. From a (very) young suicide case, to the corruption of a worker in appalling conditions, each story drags you in before delivering the knockout blow in the final couple of pages.

There's a couple of stories that I wasn't quite so taken with (? about a disillusioned train 'pusher' in Japan for one), but the aforementioned story of an Indian construction worker who tastes power after living in appalling conditions is very chilling, and the woman with a mental illness who makes her seek attention at the expense of her own family is heartbreaking, particularly for anyone with children. You certainly won't come out of reading this with a grin on your face feeling positive about the world, but then who the hell picks up a book called 'Twisted Dark' expecting it to be uplifting?

I believe there's six volumes altogether, and I intend to try and catch them all (a quick glimpse at the Forward for Volume 2 suggests that it's a little more lighthearted in places due to numerous fan requests to lighten the tone, so we'll see how that affects it) - I heartily suggest you do, too!

5/5