Advance Review — Simmonds and Boss Perfectly Complement Each Other In ‘Universal Monsters: Phantom Of The Opera’ #3
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
Just when this creative team was due for a small slump right before the final issue, they deliver what could be a modern classic. Tyler Boss and Martin Simmonds work seamlessly to deliver a magnificent take on this classic story.
Overall
10/10In the hands of artist Martin Simmonds, the Paris opera house’s ghost blurs the line between a monstrous human under a mask and an actual poltergeist.
Simmonds, who has been masterful in the Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera limited series, shows readers something more in this third issue. The Phantom finally makes physical contact with ingenue Chrstine Daae. While we see his human hands on her shoulders, we also see black tendrils enveloping her from his spectral body.
Simmonds gives us a beautiful visual metaphor for what is happening inside of the young soprano’s mind. And it perfecting complements Tyler Boss’ script, where the opera ghost is whispering to Christine that she can only trust him. By combing creative forces, Simmonds and Boss take gaslighting and Stockholm syndrome to the next level.
They don’t stop there, though. The Phantom also visits the opera company’s manager, and the same smoky vines temp the businessman into a deal with the devil. At one point, Simmonds illustrates the villain’s mask surrounded by the tendrils, making him look like a terrifying male medusa.
Boss packs plenty of plot developments into this penultimate issue, including an arrest for murder, trap sprung by the police, as well as Christine questioning her own desires of why she wants to be the opera’s next prima donna. Oh yes, there’s also the depiction of the story’s climax involving a chandelier. Simmonds masterfully uses a cascading bouquet of roses to symbolize the chandelier’s fall. But his depiction of the scene’s aftermath is brutal and unforgiving — and magnificent.
Simmonds and Boss and produced three of the best issues of the year. If they can stick the landing next month, they will have a contender for the best limited series of 2026, if not the decade.
Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera #3 — written by Tyler Boss, illustrated by Martin Simmonds, and lettered by Becca Carey — will be available in comic book stores and on digital platforms on Wednesday from Image Comics.