The Devil That Wears My Face #4: People Are Evil

The demon Legion looks unstoppable. Everyone in the church who represents a threat gets a grisly death. The best chance to stop him was Father Vieri whose consciousness (soul?) was shunted into another body when Legion took over his. But the situation looks bleak as the horror story takes on a new action element in The Devil That Wears My Face #4.

Cardinal Mancini is dead, and Maria and Father Vieri, despite holding the Iscariot Blade that can stop Legion, are in dire straights as The Devil That Wears My Face #4 opens. The demon hunting duo makes a quick escape, jumping from the window and landing in a carriage below. Legion puts the watching Vatican inquisitors under his thrall and sends them en masse after Vieri and Maria. The carriage is a lost cause, and the chase forces Vieri and Maria on to horses. But as the two split up, Vieri isn’t giving up on his attack on Legion.

Pepose elevates the action considerably in The Devil That Wears My Face #4. Each issue has dialed up the action over the previous one, and it hits a critical mass here–at least for now. By now the hand wringing from Vieri is done, and the story is all about Vieri versus Legion and whatever forces the two can bring to bear against the other. The issue is an exciting one, though the horror does take a backseat.

The Devil That Wears My Face delivers no shortage of gore-centric horror. And Legion is an easily understandable demonic villain corrupting the church. The Devil That Wears My Face #4 changes the dynamic. Legion may be the central villain as far as Father Vieri is concerned, but Legion is making the point that humans in general are a villain. He doesn’t need to corrupt the church because the church, by its very nature as a collective of people, is already corrupt. It casts the conflict between Vieri and Legion in a new light, begging the question of what a victory is. Even if Vieri destroys Legion, what happens with the church afterward and those who were complicit with the demon?

At one point in the issue Legion throws a burning Vieri off a roof into a flammable surface below. It’s a simple moment and darkly amusing in a way.

The carriage escape sequence is a lot of fun, and the true highlight of The Devil That Wears My Face #4. Pepose writes an explosive action sequence. The panel layouts, whether strictly described in Pepose’s script or more heavily influenced by Cormack, are angled and overlapping. They add a frenetic quality to the action. It’s nonstop chaos, juxtaposed with Legion’s more deliberate decisions that are depicted in orderly, rectangular panels.

Cormack’s art here is captivating. Vieri, Legion, and Maria are more expressive than at any point in the series which matches the issue’s urgency. In several instances Vieri and Maria’s fear is palpable. Cormack achieves that effect with a lot of wide eyes and open mouths. The closeups on the two characters aren’t particularly subtle, but it fits in perfectly with the frantic nature of the characters’ escape. And in the same way that Cormack goes big with Vieri and Maria’s expressions, he pushes Legion into almost comical levels of evil expression. But with the stakes rising higher in this issue, it works.

The escape sequence in general is exciting. The layouts, as mentioned, contribute to this significantly. Further adding to the intensity is Cormack’s attention to detail. The inquisitors flood many panels throughout this sequence, and at no point is the action hard to follow. The escape sequence cuts between closeups on Maria and Vieri and wider looks at the inquisitors chasing the carriage.

The carriage escape sequence is also a highlight of lettering in The Devil That Wears My Face #4. There are a number of splashier instances with sound effects and emphasized dialogue. But Birch’s organization of dialogue bubbles through the chaotic panel layouts makes everything easy to follow despite the otherwise chaotic quality.