Created by Michael Avon Oeming

Dark Horse

Loosely based on the life of William of Newbury, Michael Avon Oeming’s latest series moves like Hellboy as produced by the Muppets. It works brilliantly.

William is a deeply concerned monk, endlessly worried about wild dogs, robbers and the mortal horrors of his 12th century. The one place he’s comfortable is in dealing with the supernatural. Ghosts, demons, the world beneath the world. William moves through that with the exact ease he doesn’t feel anywhere else.

Oeming’s decision to make this an anthropomorphic story pays off brilliantly. William is a raccoon, the living embodiment of nervous energy and Oeming uses his form to tell us about his character. An intimidating, assured warrior in supernatural combat and a raccoon everywhere else, William’s discomfort with his lot in life is a subtle lever Oeming turns to ramp up the unease. One of the best scenes here is his clash with his stuffy prior, Edward. Edward is officious, contemptuous, greedy and a hare. He has two otters who are sergeants at arms. The book disarms you constantly and Oeming uses that again and again to show us just how dak and strange and beautiful this world is. The core of the story, the exorcism of a ghostly husband who is also a cat, sparks with unearthly light and unique perspectives. The animals at the heart of this story give it fragility and, oddly, humanity and Oeming’s renowned style sings on every page.

The book is made by William’s sidekick though. Winnie is a mouse, and a thief, who has a refreshingly different world view to William. Drawn with subtle androgyny, Winnie has the physical power William lacks while he holds the intellectual cards and seeing them circle each other and work out how to be a team is really good fun. It also folds back, again, into the chaos in this version of England. The dead walk, ghosts demand to be heard, the church demands money and a raccoon priest and a mouse thief are caught in the middle of it all.

Verdict: Tightly plotted, beautifully drawn and confident this is a really fun start to a miniseries with a voice all its own. One for Hellboy fans, Muppet fans and everyone in between. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart