Ruins of Ravencroft: Carnage
Writer: Frank Tieri
Artist (Modern Day): Angel Unzueta
Artist (Flashback): Guiu Vilanova
Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letters: VC’s Travis Lanham
Ruins of Ravencroft is a series of three one-shots, this one, Carnage, then followed up next week with a Sabretooth one-shot before being concluded with a Dracula one-shot. It’s a follow up to the events of Absolute Carnage which left the Ravencroft Insane Asylum in pieces. Now it’s being rebuilt and there are a few discoveries in the ruins which lead us to learn a little more about its past.
The art duties are divided in two, Angel Unzueta handles the modern day pages then when we flash back to the 1400’s art passes over to Guiu Vilanova. I quite like how they did this, it really makes a distinction between the two periods and both artists are suited to the time they draw. Unzueta’s art feels cleaner and more modern, while Vilanova instantly takes us back to the time he’s drawing. Both artists are incredibly talented.
We learn about the land that the Ravencroft Asylum was built on and we’re in classic horror territory here. We jump forward in time a few times with the majority of the story in the 1600’s. This story ties in nicely to the events of Absolute Carnage and shows us that perhaps events have been going on a little longer than we realised.
There are some parts of this issue that worked really well and others that left me quite disappointed. One of the main characters in the 1600’s is meant to be an ancestor of a major player in Absolute Carnage, I won’t reveal who but I didn’t like that twist. It just didn’t quite ring true and felt like it was played more for the reveal than being consistent with everything we know about this character.
Then after getting our little horror story we flash back to the future and we get another reveal at the end which didn’t have the shock value it was meant to. It was more of an “oh” moment than a “WHAT JUST HAPPENED” moment. It looks like this is going to be setting up events for the next issue.
It’s difficult to say how good this mini series will be without reading the next two parts. I don’t have any idea how they’re going to fit Sabretooth or Dracula into this story, it doesn’t feel like the most natural progression so I’m intrigued to learn where they go with this story.
The modern day segments of the story don’t work as well as the past stories do. As much as anything they are quite brief and there isn’t enough focus on why all the different characters are there, they don’t all make the most sense, but I’m sure as the story continues we’ll learn a little bit more.
For fans of Absolute Carnage, and horror, this issue will go down well. Where the story goes remains to be seen but I’ll be sure to pick them up. Great and distinctive art between the two artists is a real highlight.
Artist (Modern Day): Angel Unzueta
Artist (Flashback): Guiu Vilanova
Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letters: VC’s Travis Lanham
Ruins of Ravencroft is a series of three one-shots, this one, Carnage, then followed up next week with a Sabretooth one-shot before being concluded with a Dracula one-shot. It’s a follow up to the events of Absolute Carnage which left the Ravencroft Insane Asylum in pieces. Now it’s being rebuilt and there are a few discoveries in the ruins which lead us to learn a little more about its past.
The art duties are divided in two, Angel Unzueta handles the modern day pages then when we flash back to the 1400’s art passes over to Guiu Vilanova. I quite like how they did this, it really makes a distinction between the two periods and both artists are suited to the time they draw. Unzueta’s art feels cleaner and more modern, while Vilanova instantly takes us back to the time he’s drawing. Both artists are incredibly talented.
We learn about the land that the Ravencroft Asylum was built on and we’re in classic horror territory here. We jump forward in time a few times with the majority of the story in the 1600’s. This story ties in nicely to the events of Absolute Carnage and shows us that perhaps events have been going on a little longer than we realised.
There are some parts of this issue that worked really well and others that left me quite disappointed. One of the main characters in the 1600’s is meant to be an ancestor of a major player in Absolute Carnage, I won’t reveal who but I didn’t like that twist. It just didn’t quite ring true and felt like it was played more for the reveal than being consistent with everything we know about this character.
Then after getting our little horror story we flash back to the future and we get another reveal at the end which didn’t have the shock value it was meant to. It was more of an “oh” moment than a “WHAT JUST HAPPENED” moment. It looks like this is going to be setting up events for the next issue.
It’s difficult to say how good this mini series will be without reading the next two parts. I don’t have any idea how they’re going to fit Sabretooth or Dracula into this story, it doesn’t feel like the most natural progression so I’m intrigued to learn where they go with this story.
The modern day segments of the story don’t work as well as the past stories do. As much as anything they are quite brief and there isn’t enough focus on why all the different characters are there, they don’t all make the most sense, but I’m sure as the story continues we’ll learn a little bit more.
For fans of Absolute Carnage, and horror, this issue will go down well. Where the story goes remains to be seen but I’ll be sure to pick them up. Great and distinctive art between the two artists is a real highlight.
A Look Inside
