Dahlia In The Dark Issue 1
A washed up hitman, Donny Dahlia, takes one last job transporting a package cross country in the hopes of seeing his estranged daughter again. Little does he know this job is going to get him caught in the middle of a war between the fairy realms that could determine the fate of humankind.
The Details
Writer: Joe Corallo
Penciler/Inker: Andrea Milana
Cover Artists: Andrea Milana, Chris Shehan
Letterer: Micah Myers
Dahlia In The Dark Issue 1 is released on December 7 2022 from Mad Cave Studios.
Dahlia In The Dark Issue 1 Story
This first issue sets up an intriguing story and world in only a few short pages. The ambitious mix of fantasy and noir is introduced immediately when we meet hitman Donny Dahlia, a John Constantine lookalike (Keanu mould) in the middle of a job. This classic noir scenario is given a sharp supernatural twist when the hit turns into a savage werewolf and attacks Donnie before he puts the lycanthrope down. We instantly learn that this world is different and that there are clearly factions that don’t want the supernatural beings to gain control. The next scene reveals that Donny has an estranged daughter who he longs to be reunited with.
We then cut to the present where Donny is offered a job from gangster Ollie Olleander (you can tell he is a gangster by his abundance of gold jewellery and cigars) to take an important package cross country. Donny is incensed when he learns he will be working with another heavy, Big Molly Bloom, whom Donny clearly doesn’t get along with.
The stakes of the job are revealed to the reader when the changeling assassin Ryne brutally offs a carload of fairy folk who have something to do with the mysterious package. Before long, Ryne is set on a collision course with Donny thanks to Olleander, who is playing both sides of the fairy kingdom factions so he will come out on top.
The issue ends with Donny discovering that the package contains Maya, a fairy princess and daughter of Luna, King of the Fairies. It seems she may have defected to the other side (the identity of which we are yet to discover), but loyalists have captured her to send back to him. Donny will now have to decide how to continue his mission and whether or not to return Maya to her father.
Being that this is the first issue, we are left with the collision course of factions set in motion, but also a yearning to find out more about this tantalising world. There are still a lot of questions about the structure and hierarchy of the fantasy world laid out here, but not wholly to the story’s detriment. I would have preferred a bit more insight into the rules of the world, but I’m confident that will come in future issues. Joe Corallo has successfully merged his two interests in noir and fantasy here and sets up a journey that many will want to follow.
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Dahlia In The Dark Issue 1 Art
The artwork by Andrea Milana has a crisp Mignola-like style, perfect for this mix of fantasy and noir. There is an inherent hard-boiled mood from the first panel and it’s more impressive given that this is the first comic book he has worked on. He paints the everyday world with a sepia tone before expanding the palette when the story offers glimpses at the fairies, mermaids and denizens of the world, or when violence erupts at the hands of Ryne the changeling. Certain panels offer a great glimpse at the backstory and tension between the factions, utilising the ‘old show don’t tell’ adage to good effect.
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Check out Dahlia In The Dark Issue 1 on December 7 2022
While running a touch short, the first issue grabs your attention and invites to you to continue this journey into dark-hued modern fantasy. Readers will be able to discover this world for themselves when Mad Cave Studios releases this comic on December 7th.
