FROM PANEL TO PANEL • You Are Cursed (By Chance or Providence by Becky Cloonan)

[quote]BY CHANCE OR PROVIDENCE collects BECKY CLOONAN’s award-winning trilogy: WOLVES, THE MIRE, and DEMETER, with lush colors by LEE LOUGHRIDGE and a sketchbook/illustration section. These stories cast a spell of hypnotic melancholy, weaving their way through medieval landscapes of ancient curses and terrible truths that will haunt you long after you’ve set them down. — Image Comics[/quote]

Gothic as fuck.

By Chance or Providence will have you utterly spellbound with its three stories that speak of “ancient curses and terrible truths” that will have you on bated breaths.

Set during medieval-esque times, the three stories—“Wolves,” “The Mire,” and “Demeter”—will have you yearning for more of Becky Cloonan’s dark tales and gothic art. “Wolves” is about a nameless hunter who is tasked to track a monstrous beast and kill it. “The Mire” is about a young squire, Owain, who is sent to deliver an important letter to a castle at the heart of deadly swamp when all he wants to do is fight by Sir Owain’s side in the battle. “Demeter” is about a fisherman’s wife who fear for her husband every time he goes out into the water.

These stories have a sense of foreboding in them that you can’t shake off. Dialogue may be sparse, but it packs a punch. The emotions, the messages, and the art will cut you deep. It’s very lyrical. They’re about truths that are hard to ignore when the sea keeps calling to you; tragic losses that will be hard to cope with; sacrifices that must be made for loved ones, and so on. They’re slightly romantic but ultimately devastating.

These feelings linger.

It’s Becky Cloonan’s art and Lee Loughridge’s colors (too) that knocks you onto your butt. They’re extremely detailed and dark. They’re like folklores that have been passed down. They set this melancholic mood that carries throughout each story. And it’s so goddamn gorgeous and haunting.

Who will enjoy reading By Chance or Providence? People who love gothic goodness. People who love gorgeous art and foreboding stories.

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]Thank you to Image Comics for sending me this comic for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the comic or the content of my review.[/note] [note note_color=”#DDB349″ text_color=”#ffffff”]Are you convinced? Go buy By Chance or Providence from your local comic book store, or these online retailers: Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indigo · Comixology.[/note]