DC Horror Presents: The Conjuring: The Lover #3
Kevin Rossi
Recap
Jessica’s dizzying descent into madness continues as she finds herself dealing with an act of violence she has no recollection of committing. To make matters worse, a crushing sense of isolation and paranoia drives her to the brink. Now, nearing emotional collapse, Jessica finds herself coming to terms with the terrifying reality that these ever-worsening events may not be the product of her deteriorating psyche, but of something else…something inhuman.
Then, join us for a third terror-inducing tour of the Warrens’ haunted artifact museum and witness the spine-tingling origin of the accordion monkey by the dream team of Tim Seeley and Kelley Jones!
Review
I am finished with The Lover #3 and on to enjoying the stellar Macabre Mail Orders illustrated by Dave Johnson, which have consistently been the cherries on top of this well-done horror series, but my heart is still pounding.
Issue #3 is exactly what I wanted after two issues of nail-biting suspense and anxiety. Issue #3 doesn’t give you a chance to stop and breathe and puts you right next to Jessica as her sanity and world spiral into darkness. In past issues, we see the red eyes and shadowy figure creep up on Jessica, but this is no longer the case. There are few moments of rest in issue #3 for Jessica. Even a quiet trip to the library reveals a creepy backroom filled with books on the occult and a terrifying librarian. Something terrifying is happening nearly every page.
A highlight of the issue is the demon jamming its hand down Jessica’s throat in the dining hall and pulling out thick strands of brown hair with some type of beaded bracelet. It is guaranteed to make you cringe and wince. In fact, Garry Brown and Mike Spicer are a perfect pair when it comes to making your skin crawl, besides literally making covering Jessica’s skin with crawling bugs. The two artists are on top of their game and brilliantly drag us into Jessica’s living nightmare.
Besides the multiple pages of pure horror and dread, we do learn that Jessica is not interested in Kyle because she is interested in a woman, most likely her friend from back home. This leaves the question of who is “the lover?” Is it Jessica, her friend back home, or the demon? Things are getting scarier and scarier but at least answers are starting to form.
“Tales From The Artifact Room” have been bite-sized nightmares with an emphasis on “tale.” They are brief and well-paced and made to read in one sitting. I would recount these stories when I want to scare some friends around a campfire. “The Accordion Monkey” is no different.
Tim Seeley’s tale seems almost by the numbers which work to its advantage when it suddenly isn’t with a climax that will leave you reeling. Kelley Jones and Jordie Bellaire demonstrate that they are masters of gore and horror. Bellaire was a highlight of Si Spurrier’s run on Hellblazer with some of my favorite moments being due to coloring. As mentioned earlier, Macabre Mail Orders are a gem of this series. It is almost a shame there are only two an issue. They are the perfect buffer between these terrifying stories.
DC Comics should take notes and stick them in all of their horror books. If David L. Johnson-McGoldrick or Rex Ogle sees this, make it happen.
Final Thoughts
DC Horror Presents: The Conjuring: The Lover #3 continues to scare the pants off of readers while demonstrating exactly what fans of the films and horror in general want in a comic.
DC Horror Presents: The Conjuring: The Lover #3: Non-Stop Terror
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 9/109/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 7/107/10