Written by: Zidrou
Illustrations: Philippe Berthet
Coloring: Dominique David
Publisher: Dargaud
Zwijgen als vermoord – Comic Book Review
The ‘Zwartlijn’ series offers pitch black stories, which all revolve around pain and suffering or nasty secrets. Zwijgen als vermoord is the second story in this series, which revolves around a murder case that has been lying still for over 27 years, until all of a sudden new evidence is being brought up, but for some reason this evidence proves to be rather unexpected and disturbing. We were not sure what to expect from this dark emotional rollercoaster, but it sure as hell surprised us. We’re going to keep the story description for this one rather vague, as the story is simply stunning but it’s also hard to prevent spoiling it.
Greg Hopper has been secluded from the rest of the world for around 27 years now, living as a sheepherder, as it seems he is running away from his past. The only human contact he gets is every last Friday of the month when his groceries are being brought at his very own doorstep. The reason why he chose this life is that he fled his hometown of Dubbo City after his wife, Lee, was murdered and he became the prime suspect in the case. Nonetheless, it seems the local authorities didn’t do a very good job, as he has been living his life for 27 years in relative peace. Suddenly at the last Friday of the month, not only his groceries arrive, but also a message Greg could never imagine, namely that the killer of his wife is found. While this should normally be great news, the killer is supposedly his own brother, Ike, who confessed on his deathbed.
After packing his things, Greg heads back to his old home, which the local population had already anticipated. Sheriff Neville McGee is waiting for his old nemesis, feeling rather guilty he had once suspected Greg. Nonetheless, Greg’s first mission is to go to his brothers house, and pay his respects to his wife and also his deceased brother. That being said, things stay rather weird, as Greg seems to still have something he’s hiding. Oh, did we mention he can also see and speak with his dead wife?
The pace of this album is rather slow, which is actually great to build up the suspense. You’ll be treated to many plot twists throughout the course of this lengthy issue, while the action stays a bit on the background. The detective/thriller is surely a surprising album, as it’s quite rare to stay interesting from start to finish, without any actual action sequences.
We have seen Zidrou appear on the site quite some times and we have already established that he is great in writing stories of all genres, going from comedy comic books like Dokus, fairytale-like stories such as De Nar or even more biographical issues such as De Platenspeler. Zwijgen als vermoord is yet again another genre completely, as it’s a mystery, crime story, and yet again it seems Zidrou is able to keep things very interesting, if not amazing. One could easily take a break and ponder about things after reading through this one.
Philippe Berthet is able to create a very detailed environment and characters, even though he doesn’t use that many lines in order to create the world everything happens in. Characters each have their own personalities, and look appealing, even those who do not have such a clear conscience. Dominique David opted for even, bland colors, which suit the setting perfectly.
Conclusion
Zwijgen als vermoord is one of those albums that draws you in completely and when you finally think you’ve figured out the story, it slaps you senseless leaving you shocked, dazed and confused, in all the good ways. You’ll be treated to a slightly thicker album than most, with great illustrations and an amazing story. This one is surely worth looking into, if you like an intriguing story, with many secrets to unravel.
Zwijgen als vermoord - Comic Book Review,
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