Writer: Mike Mignola

Art and colour by Jesse Lonergan; Letters by Clem Robins

Dark Horse, out now

In Paris in 1883, at the First Temple of the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, a reincarnated queen and Miss Tufnut Trionus and Miss Truesdale, a member of the order, are about to have a conversation that will change their lives forever.

Lonergan’s art style wraps around Mignola’s script like second heroine Annum Yassa’s hand closes around her axehandle. There’s an organic rounded quality to it that makes the cautious Paris conversations and the brutal and quiet world of Annum Yassa wildly different but grounded in the same way. There’s tension in both, violence in one and threat everywhere. Whether it’s an emphasis on the word ‘brotherhood’ or Lonergan’s single colour red glazed depiction of Yassa’s vengeance, this is a book that’s a clenched fist only sometimes wrapped in ‘the proper’ clothing. Robins’ lettering is witty and smart, and the tone of voice shines through as brightly as a well polished axe.

Mignola has always excelled at this kind of wry horror and fans of The Amazing Screw-On Head will find a lot to smile at here. But that’s not all there is. The friendship between Tufnut and Truesdale and between Annum Yassa and her servant is frightened, hurried and intense. Neither of these pairs of women are safe, neither are able to do anything about it. At least not alone, which Miss Truesdale may never be again.

Verdict: This is a World of Hellboy book but right now it stands very much on its own. Stand with it, stand with Annum Yassa. Stand with Miss Truesdale. You’re going to want to be on her side. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart