One For Sorrow

#1A

Jamie McKelvie Regular

Release: Nov 06, 2024

DSTLRY

Creators

Writer	Jamie McKelvie
Artist	Jamie McKelvie
Cover Artist	Jamie McKelvie

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On Bluesky, Jamie McKelvie posted a thank you to all the people who reached out to tell him how much they enjoyed One For Sorrow. I replied that I am not reaching out to tell him that…because I haven’t read it yet.

That part has changed, so now I’m reaching out to everyone via this Short Box to tell you all how much I enjoyed it.

A lot. That’s how much.

Intending no disrespect to his writing, the main event for me is, of course, McKelvie’s art with its deceptively simple style that evokes Patrick Nagel and cel-shaded animation.

Particularly with the oversized pages – compared to a standard comic – it’s a gorgeous book.

That said, there’s much more to it than good looks, which leads us to the writing that I was not disrespecting.

The story takes place in London in 1900 and features a cast of characters that include a beautiful young barmaid who is cunning and ambitious, a grifting “spiritualist,” her con-man partner, and several of her wealthy clients, a Holmesian detective, and a masked avenger.

One of the great mysteries of the stories is who this masked avenger is, what it is that’s being avenged, and what is the source of the seemingly supernatural powers of this creature of the night that has been dubbed “The Magpie Killer,” but as our point of view constantly jumps about throughout the story between the various characters, the larger mystery is what ties all of them together.

As I read through it, I enjoyed the journey, but couldn’t help but wonder about the destination, and while it didn’t lessen my enjoyment, I found myself getting a bit impatient. What do all of these people have to do with each other? How are they all connected to the Magpie Killer?

The end of the issue gives us the answers – many of them, at least – in a way that is both surprising and immensely satisfying and that will leave you eager to find out the answers to the rest and to get a deeper explanation of the answers you’ve gotten.

That deliberate cultivation of impatience through constantly switching perspectives and revealing hints of what’s happening without actually revealing much at all – at least, not much that will make sense until you reach the end – is masterful and just as deceptively simple as the art and just adds to the satisfaction of the reveal at the end that release the tension that you weren’t even consciously aware was building.

You feel your shoulders drop and your jaw unclench as you say, “Ohhh….”with a relieved sigh.

It’s a good comic is what I’m saying, and the people who were reaching out to Jamie to tell him how much they enjoyed it were right to do so.

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