The Marked #7 // Review
One guy protects all of humanity with a violin. The fact that he happens to be the perfectly preserved soul of H.P. Lovecraft is a bit of a strange detail as a couple of young magic wielders look to escape a limbo overcome by demons in The Marked #7. Writer David Hine and writer/artist Brian Haberlin strike particularly poetic notes with an issue that is somewhat sparse on the visuals. Geirrod Van Dyke does the best he can with the color in a chapter that lacks a whole lot of opportunity for a dazzling atmosphere. The minimalism on the page maintains a certain purity about the story that Hine and Haberlin are trying to get across. Still, it lacks the impact that it could have had in an otherwise entertaining issue.
H.P. Lovecraft stands on a rock floating in an endless empty void. He's playing the violin. A couple of The Marked find themselves trapped with him. He might be their only way out, but he HAS been trapped in the strange, little limbo holding back demons from terrorizing humanity for decades, and he might need a rest. He challenges them to a duel of music: violin versus electric guitar. The winner gets to leave. The other has to stay and play music for all of eternity to soothe the evil that might otherwise overtake the earth. Souls are on the line as the music begins.
Hine and Haberlin manage a pretty sophisticated articulation of the personality of H.P. Lovecraft as they explore magical matters in the world of The Marked a bit further. Cleverness and comedy slice through what might otherwise be kind of a weak story on which to rest a single issue. A magic music competition might be a strange choice for an inherently visual medium. Still, Hine and Haberlin keep the intellectual end of the installment moving quickly enough to keep it from getting dull and disinteresting.
There's something very haunting about Lovecraft's image with a violin that never quite wears itself out throughout the issue. The scenery of him young, in a tux, with a violin, carries a hell of a lot of weight. The endless khaki of the underworld in which Lovecraft finds himself lacks much visual punch. The demons he's holding back seem to be keeping with current social distancing guidelines, which is nice and responsible of them. Still, it lacks the kind of impact that a teaming, roiling mass of evil might have had. There's no overwhelming sense oof peril going on in the issue, which robs it of some of the power it could have otherwise had.
Seven issues in, The Marked is still pursuing a potential that it's not quite reaching. The presence of a literary legend and the strangely rich background of the contemporary fantasy story is really appealing. All the right elements are there. Hine and Haberlin can't quite frame the elements in a way that lives up to their potential.
