REVIEW: 'Dark Ride' #1 by Joshua Williamson, Andrei Bressan, and Adriano Lucas

 

 

DARK RIDE #1

Writer: Joshua Williamson

Artist: Andrei Bressan, Adriano Lucas

Letters: Pat Brosseau

Publisher: Image Comics

Release Date: October 5, 2022

Cover Price: $3.99

WELCOME TO THE SCARIEST PLACE ON EARTH!?

Devil Land has been the world's premiere horror-themed amusement park for over 50 years, home to the scariest ride ever created - The Devil's Due.?

But when lifelong fan Owen Seasons begins his first day on the job, he will discover the true horrors happening behind the scenes, the truth about the park's reclusive creator Arthur Dante, and that the job of his dreams might just be a living nightmare.

Joshua Williamson (Batman, Nailbiter) and Andrei Bressan (BIRTHRIGHT) reunite for a thrilling plunge into murder, mayhem, and sinister family secrets in this all-new Skybound original series.

Score:

★★★★1/2 (4/5)

If you've been anticipating 'Dark Ride' by Joshua Williamson, Andrei Bressan, and Adriano Lucas to be a weird and scary thrill to read it totally is and just getting started. Williamson and Bressan, who've previously worked on 'Birthright,' are back together again with an absorbing tale of horror set in a beloved amusement park. 

With clear parallels to Disneyland, Devil Land has its own history of becoming a longstanding and beloved destination run by its reclusive owner and his family. It has strict company rules about the park's cleanliness, security, and customer service. However, things as you would expect are not all that it seems. This is made clear to the new hire and Devil Land fanboy Owen. It's through him we learn how the park operates and what's expected of its employees. He also meets the owner's adult children who have their own issues. It's a mess behind the scenes at the park but things only get worse for Owen as the day goes by. 

This debut issue spends most of it establishing the park and its characters. Williamson really sets the foundation with engaging characters, their backstories, and anecdotes. Halfway through the issue, the park feels like a real place, and Owen's complete joy is realistic because who hasn't seen people obsess over Disneyland. The issue opens and closes with some frights setting the stage for more to come. It's really a well-balanced and well-written horror story. 

Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas create a colorful and lively atmosphere. Providing the bursts of color and creative designs you'd expect to find at an amusement park. It's a disarming and calming aspect of the story where everything seems fine and safe...until the sun goes down. It's exceptionally thought out with a charming approach that makes the comic great to look at and enjoy as you wait for the unnerving undercurrent of tension to finally snap. 

'Dark Ride' is a great new horror series that's engrossing on the surface as the sinister underpinnings of the story creep out and shock. Finely written and wonderfully illustrated, Williamson and Bressan have another hit on their hands with their homage to amusement parks and supernatural horror.