When Vertigo first revealed their Vertigo Crime line, I'd be lying if I said that I expected to see anything like Dark Entries. In fact, I'm curious as to what my reaction might have been to this new line of OGNs had I chosen to read this one before Filthy Rich. Where Filthy Rich was an homage/fitting entry to the pulp-noir genre - the kind of book you'd immediately associate with a crime-fiction centric line of books - Ian Rankin and Werther Dell'edera's Dark Entries seems more suited for an EC Comics horror anthology. Of course, that says nothing of the quality of the work, simply that I found it an extremely interesting choice for one of the two inaugural releases for the new Vertigo Crime.
Dark Entries is the only solicited Vertigo Crime entry that features a pre-established property, starring Hellblazer's John Constantine. Initially, I was excited to see what renowned crime novelist Rankin would do with the character, especially under the guise of this new imprint, but ultimately the inclusion of Constantine in Dark Entries is both a talking point and a disappointment. The story follows Constantine as he is approached for help by a reality television show producer who has a new hit show that has transplanted a crew of young people into a haunted house, where the show captures their every move and reaction. The problem is, the showrunners have yet to "haunt" the contestants with any of their rigged devices; instead, the house is proving itself truly possessed. Of course, things get a bit more complicated once John Constantine arrives on set.
The story is genuinely intriguing, and to its credit, offers up a great deal of allegory in regards to the dulling and thought-deficient programming of reality television. My gripe comes in the fact that while the story is great, there is nothing unique to it that it could be only told in this format. Aside from being relatively stand-alone, I can't see where this couldn't have been put out as a four issue mini-series or perhaps a short arc in Hellblazer. Rankin even includes cliffhangers for what could be issue breaks, and this is how one could see the inclusion of Constantine as a slight detriment. Since there is already an alternate format in which to tell this story - particularly one that isn't touting itself as crime-fiction - why not leave this slot in the schedule open for a piece with new and original characters?
One aspect of Dark Entries that really worked in the all-inclusive digest sized format comes via a particular story beat that I won't ruin for you here. Essentially, the entire viewpoint of the story is altered about midway through the book, and having it all at your fingertips immediately make the changes that much more effective. To further the point, artist Werther Dell'edera uses the black-and-white scheme of the book to his advantage. When you hold Dark Entries in your hands this Wednesday, look at it from the side with the pages facing towards you. It was the first thing I noticed, and one of the questions I wanted answered most when I first cracked open the book. You'll see that the pages go from being colored white to being black, about midway through. It's an interesting and effective design choice on the part of the artist, and you'll see why after reading it.
