Daphne Byrne #4: The Nightmare is Just Beginning

Daphne Byrne has slowly been making its way up the horror ranks. With the creative team of Laura Marks and Kelley Jones, they have found a way to make the tiny hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Daphne Byrne #4 continues with a teenage Daphne trying to figure out how to navigate her crazy new world that consists of monsters, cults, and demons. Daphne’s mother is currently in a downward spiral with con artists who continue to exploit her loss of her husband who mysteriously died in an opium den. In Daphne’s attempt to expose said con artists her mother does not take to it well and feels that Daphne has betrayed her. This issue sees the story take a dark and scary turn down a freakish road. “Brother” feels like Daphne is not being truthful with him and starts to feel slighted. Daphne finds herself in a hellish dream being introduced to some sort of “evil demon-king”, but in this dream we see her transformed into a monster with hideous skin. This nightmare takes an even more disturbing turn when Daphne awakens with a piece of her “monster-skin” on her forearm.

Laura Marks does a great job of scaring you while keeping true to the timeframe in which this book is set. She takes great care in capturing not only Daphne’s grief with the loss of her father, her newfound nightmares, and dealing with the “rules” that women had to abide by during that time only adding to Daphne’s struggle with her young life. Kelley Jones’ nightmarish visuals provide the hellish vehicle for this story and don’t slow down at all. Kelley’s detail in every panel is something to be savored like a fine scotch. This book leaves you with a creepy unease, which is a must for good horror and that is what Daphne Byrne is.