Mirka Andolfo’s Mercy #2 is published by Image Comics. It is created, written and illustrated by Mirka Andolfo.
Issue #1 introduces us to the mining village of Woodsburgh, WA — a place where several years prior, an explosion caused a mine to collapse, killing many. However, the explosion was due to something more sinister, something supernatural. And it didn’t die that day. On the anniversary of the so-called explosion, a strange but beautiful woman, Lady Hellaine and her butler, Mr. Goodwill, arrive in town and suddenly mysterious murders start taking place.
“The Woodsburgh Devil,” as the murderer has been dubbed, takes another innocent victim. These murders are far from normal though as the victims have strange sprouts growing from them. Obviously, we readers are well aware that Lady Hellaine is the killer but the towns people are easily swayed by her beauty and apparent wealth. She’s looking for someone specific though, someone she can’t find. So what better way to track a socialite down than to throw a big party and invite everyone, including Lady Swanson, a prominent and powerful woman in the community and the only person suspicious of Lady Hellaine.
It’s still unclear what exactly Lady Hellaine is. She’s not human, but she’s not a supernatural creature I’ve seen depicted before. Some of her qualities remind me of a vampire, but vampires don’t have faces that turn into crazy plant monstrosities. Like a vampire though, she feeds off humans in a way. Again, I’m not sure exactly how yet, but those brightly colored flowers and vines appear on her victims and can apparently kill on their own if touched by a person. She’s the kind of monster that can spread.
We’re also learning that maybe this Lady Hellaine was once human, at least, her body might have been. This thing inside the body and the body itself might be two different things. She mentions not being able too weak still to fight off the memories and she reacts strongly when Rory calls her “mom”. She also has a weird recollection/reaction when she sees Jonathan. The mystery just keeps growing and the brutality keeps increasing and I am here for it.
Mirka Andolfo’s art is so beautiful that I forget how she can also make it so grotesque. In a good way. You know, because it’s horrifying. I love the way she writes these characters. All of the rich people talk in such an eloquent and backhanded way to each other. Rory has a genuine innocence to her. Her life has clearly been horrible but she believes so strongly that her mom will come for her. I’m also curious to learn more about Jonathan and Betsy too.
OVERALL SCORE: 9 / 10
Make sure to pick up a copy of Mirka Andolfo’s Mercy #2 at your local comic shop!
Happy reading!
