Light. Dark. I loved this either way.
Author: Skottie Young
Artist: Jorge Corona
I really should pay more attention when my wife and I go for comics; she always seems to find the best stuff I pass by because it’s not a Justice League or an Avengers book. Case in point, she decided one day that the first issue of the Skottie Young-penned book from Image Comics, THE ME YOU LOVE IN THE DARK, deserved a closer look. Which in turn led to her eagerly awaiting every new issue until the last, issue #5, was out and then she promptly devoured that, as well.
“This is really good,” she said. “You would like it.”
I did. She knows me so well.
The story itself is very simple, stretched to five issues by the amazing art of Jorge Corona, with little dialogue—most of which is rendered unnecessary by the, as previously stated, amazing art of Jorge Corona. If anything, Corona is every bit as responsible for telling this story as Young is, which is exactly what you want from your comic book artist.
THE ME YOU LOVE IN THE DARK concerns Ro, an artist seeking inspiration in isolation. She rents a house to find the headspace necessary to work on the pieces for her upcoming show. The house, however, does not come alone.
“I don’t really believe in ghosts, and all that,” the realtor tells her. “But there seems to be a lot of stories about this place being haunted—whatever that means.”
Ro is unfazed.
“It’s exactly what I’m looking for,” she says.
As the days wear on and she’s still devoid of inspiration, she calls on the spirit that may or may not be in the house with her.
“You know, you could at least start the record and pour my wine for me. And if you’re not going to do that, at least give me some inspiration or something. What good is a haunted house if it doesn’t give you any quality Haunting?”
The next morning, she comes downstairs to find her request has been fulfilled. The music is playing, the wine poured and ready at her easel. At first, she thinks she might be drinking too much, but then later when she grumbles in frustration, “What do you say, Ghost? Should I just pack it in and go back to being a barista?” she receives a very real and audible answer: “No, you should not.”
At first, Ro is terrified, but she soon comes to find the inspiration she sought and is painting like a madwoman, enough paintings for ten shows, her agent insists later when he comes by to check on her progress.
But this is much later, and by then Ro is just concerned with getting him out of the house before something bad happens.
In the days, weeks, then months leading up to that point, however, Ro and the ghost grow very close.
But this is not a love story. THE ME YOU LOVE IN THE DARK is, if anything, a story of survival. Ro finds herself in a terrible and terrifying situation and isn’t sure how to escape. What once seemed to be the relationship she’d always wanted eventually turns sour and dangerous, and this time the angry boyfriend isn’t just some local bad boy.
The thing in the house with Ro lives in darkness. He is sweet and kind to Ro, but he has certain rules. Candles are okay, but no lights. Never open the curtains. And when Ro wants to leave to get some air, some space, and pick up some more art supplies, well, the ghost does whatever is necessary to keep Ro close, in this case whipping up a banquet fit for a fancy dinner party. “I can order the supplies,” Ro decides.
Now, all of this seems bad enough, a familiar enough situation to too many women stuck in very bad relationships, but those relationships don’t have the art of Jorge Corona to round them out.
The thing in the house with Ro, while she can’t see it like the reader sees it … she may be the lucky one. What we’re shown lurking in the shadows surrounding her would make anyone not just freak out in terror, but lose their damn minds, literally. The thing is madness made physical. If “chaotic horror” were to take shape in the real world, it would be this thing that has made Ro fall in love with it.
I can’t give away more; like I said, the story itself is very simple. And again, this is not a love story. It’s a story of survival.
Skottie Young, whom I know mostly for his own wonderful art, writes a hell of a horror tale, with excellent pacing and dialogue, great character beats, and thick tension. But you add Corona’s art and you’ve got a serious contender for top ten best horror tale of the year.
THE ME YOU LOVE IN THE DARK was a book I most likely wouldn’t have thought to read if my wife hadn’t been intrigued and picked it up, then passed it along to me, so I have to thank her for suggesting it to me; it’s one of the best titles I’ve read in a long time.
We read the story in single issues, but the trade edition will be released on March 8, 2022.
