Advance Review: An Unwanted Chase Is On In ‘Dark Ride’ Vol. 2 TPB
by Tom Smithyman
At the end of its first several issues, Dark Ride was guaranteed to deliver a shocker. Whether it was the death of what readers assumed was the main character or the mutilation of a young girl, the series always left its fan hanging – but in a good way.
The second set of issues, collected in a trade paperback out this week, is much less successful. The shocks are largely gone in favor of some fairly odd storytelling choices. And those plot decisions often take away from some of the great visuals the series is become known for.
Written by Joshua Williamson, Dark Ride centers around the Devil Land theme park – a sort of Disneyland from Hell. Instead of a mouse, the park’s mascot is literally a devil not-so-cleverly named Danny D. Evil. This second volume peers into the park’s dark history, though that flow of information comes at a snail’s pace.
Instead, the middle of this collection gets bogged down in an extended chase scene, which does little more than give a little background on some characters while making the entire book feel bloated. A little of this kind of chase is OK, but readers won’t likely stick around if this technique persists.
Unfortunately, the second volume concludes in an odd way, with another chase and flashbacks. There’s a cliffhanger, of course – Williamson and team plan for this series to continue into the future – but it isn’t handled as well as it should be.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the odd storytelling choices is that we lose much of illustrator Andrei Bressan’s depictions of the park and its monstrous attractions. The sometimes-deadly rides that he creates have been a highpoint since the first issue. Having characters run around in garbage pits for nearly 20 pages doesn’t add to the park’s mystique or properly show off this artist’s talent.
The series’ first volume was strong and shocking. The second was more meandering. Let’s hope future installments play to the series’ strength.
Dark Ride Vol. 2 TP will be available for purchase tomorrow.
Overview
This second volume hits a sophomore slump, of sorts, with a meandering story that sometimes forgets what made this series so interesting and shocking. The plot doesn’t often allow the visual artists to dazzle readers, which is a shame.
