3 Keys #1 // Review
The horror is real. Lovecraftian horror. Evidently, the monomaniacal racist xenophobe from the early 20th century wasn’t writing fiction. There really ARE ancient gods of great power who pose a threat to life on present-day earth. Thankfully there are those who can protect it. And one of them really needs to get to work at the comics shop right now as writer/artist David Messina opens the first issue of 3 Keys. It’s an appealing new horror fantasy featuring dialogue with an assist by Scott Tipton and color assists by Alessandra Alexakis. There’s also a 3-page prologue featuring art by Rita Petruccioli.
Lovecraft’s protagonist Randolph Carter was real. The silver key mentioned in the story is real, too. It’s a sword that’s been broken into three pieces. Assembled, those pieces would be able to cross through different universes. Three women have been entrusted with these keys. They’re all descendants of Carter. They don’t know each other. Each one is guided by a catlike refugee from the dreamlands. Noah Carter’s guide looks like an anthropomorphized white tiger that only she can see. There’s a monster about to loose itself in New York. Noah is unaware of it as she heads in for work at the comic shop.
Messina’s backstory fuses together a world drawn from various elements of H.P. Lovecraft’s work. It’s a respectably solid foundation for contemporary action/horror. Messina’s three badass women / three magical immense cat guides from the dreamlands format of the action is deeply engaging on several different levels. Messina wisely grounds the weird horror that is likely to come in the world of its readers by opening up the series in a comic shop. It’s very clever storytelling right out of the gate. There’s even a pearl of certain wisdom in consulting with another writer on dialogue. (Bad dialogue in the first issue of a new series can completely kill its appeal.) Messina clearly has a firm handle on a fascinating new serial.
Petruccioli introduces the backstory in dreamy, simplified art that is cast across the page in black, white, and shades of cool blue. With the backstory established, Messina’s deeply appealing artwork begins to carve out a story. Messina opens the series with beauty in a comics shop that gradually gives way to something altogether more fantastic. Establishing shots lend the atmosphere a stylish realism. This provides a striking contrast for the nightmare of the horror fantasy when it finally breaks across the page near the end of the issue. Messina and Alexakis find a cool, sleek atmosphere for the world of 3 Keys that manages to look gritty and contemporary while conjuring a sleek, stylish visual fantasy.
Lovecraft was prolific. Messina has a huge playground to move around in for a series with his work as a foundation. Three women don’t know each other, and they’re all descendants of the same guy...AND they all have great cats that (evidently) only they can see as spirit guides. It’s such an appealing contemporary horror fantasy. Messina and company really have something here, and it feels so cleverly formed even in the first panel.
