Advance Review: Saving The Best For The Last Page In `Dark Ride’ #3

From their inception, comic books have been known for delivering shocking endings.

Part of that tactic is artistic – to deliver a gut punch. Part of it, of course, is purely economic – to ensure the reader feels compelled to come back next month. It’s simply fear of missing out.

Dark Ride is quickly earning a reputation for delivering some of the most shocking – and disturbing – last pages in recent history. The first issue ended with the apparent death of what readers believed to be the main character. The second shocked fans with a little girl mutilating herself under the influence of evil beings. And while this spoiler-free review won’t reveal the end of the latest installment, suffice it to say that there’s gore aplenty. Fans who have come this far will definitely want to stick around to read next month’s conclusion of the first arc.

That is a testament to the work of the creative team, led by writer Joshua Williamson and artist Andrei Bressan. Williamson has written a story about what is literally a Disneyland from Hell. It includes the family patriarch Arthur Dante making a pact with an evil being to create Devil Land, and his twin children Sam and Halloween who are constantly at each other’s throats. Throw in some more drama around Sam’s family, a video blogger who has his suspicions about the origins of the park and a sister trying to find her brother who disappeared in Devil Land, and you have a fast-moving story that is quickly coming to a head.

Bressan’s artwork continues to entertain and frighten. This issue doesn’t afford him the opportunity to depict the park’s sweeping landscapes, but there’s a couple of pages that will get readers’ hearts pumping. And, then there’s his wonderfully gory reveal at the end.

Next month’s issue marks the end of the series’ strong first arc. If it’s anything like the other chapters, it will shock fans and leave them wanting for more.

Dark Ride #3 will be available for purchase tomorrow.