A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE #1, from Mad Cave Studios on October 5th, 2022, begins a tale of pain and suffering when a doctor finds himself mysteriously linked to a series of patients tortured to death.
The Details
- Written by: Cullen Bunn
- Art by: Andrea Mutti
- Colors by: Andrea Mutti
- Letters by: Rus Wooton
- Cover art by: Andrea Mutti
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: October 5, 2022
Is It Good?
A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE #1 is the latest story of horror from Cullen Bunn, filled with mystery, blood, and escalating dread. This first issue is a slow burn, punctuated with mild moments of shock, but the tense atmosphere builds with each page turn for an effective start.
Bunn’s script takes the readers through a mystery simmering with fear as Dr. Nick Shaw encounters tortured patients who claim to know him and desperately need to pass on a short message. Bunn constructs a mystery about a killer with roots going back generations but holds just enough back to keep the element of curiosity high. In effect, readers get three mysteries to stay invested in – the killer’s identity, the connection to Dr. Shaw, and the history behind the killer.
In fairness, this first issue is a slow simmer. The pieces to the mystery are engaging enough as parts to a greater whole, but if you’re looking for big scares or gore, this isn’t that kind of horror story. Bunn and Mutti focus on static images to build an expectation that something may pop out at you, but those moments tend to foreshadow rather than pay off, so some pages may feel like filler. Generally, the static images contribute to the air of paranoia, but some images linger a little too long.
Mutti’s watercolor art may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it suits this type of story beautifully. Shadows are fluid and undefined, lending themselves to a heightened sense of uncertainty about what’s hiding in the shadows. The killer’s design is disturbing, and the deaths are unsettling.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a man strapped to a medical table in a dark room. He begs to be released, but a masked figure tells him to prepare to endure much more pain.
Elsewhere, Dr. Nick Shaw impresses his colleagues as the latest addition to a hospital in Georgia. One day he’s asked to see a patient who appears to have self-inflicted wounds. When Shaw tells the patient his name, the patient flies into a rage, breaks his restraints, and whispers a single phrase into Shaw’s ear before dying. The dead man is the same man strapped to the killer’s table in the prologue.
Later, Dr. Shaw travels to Honduras as part of a doctor exchange program. The incident shocked Shaw badly enough to warrant a change of scenery. We conclude the issue with a flashback to decades ago, a strangely locked room in a Honduran hospital, and lesson time.
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Final Thoughts
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A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE #1 is an effectively creepy mystery about a doctor who finds himself the target of a serial killer’s attention. The story is a slow burn, but the brief moments of shock are potent, and Bunn peppers in breadcrumbs about the mystery with precision.
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