5 out of 5

My g’nordy – where has Tom Ward been my whole life?  (…As I suspect I’m a little older than him, for part of that “whole life” he’s been non-existent; by some lateral logic we can then suppose that his very presence is defined solely by mine, in which case he should writing this review, praising me for encouraging him (fine – indirectly) to create such an awesomely entertaining masterwork as this Treves one-shot.  Maybe he has written such a review…?  He should really reach out to give me the heads up.)  A Restless Night – a prequel to Treves’ bit in the Merrick series – isn’t necessarily original fodder, squaring with familiar trial-runs-for-secret-societies setups which this story follows – but much like its inspirations, which are clearly Mignola-ish, the skill is in the reinterpretation.  And the double skill is in the reinterpretation two layers removed, of not only the aforementioned story structure, but also the Mignola style.  Simplified, to an extent, to Oeming-like blocky models, but Luke Parker’s layouts far surpass Oeming, and, damn me, but I’d argue that Parker’s even more effective than Mike, not given over to abuse of the cutaway panels, and much happier to give us directly choreographed action (Mike loves to snapshot before or after the moments of import – noting that Mignola has certainly become incredibly masterful and obviously wildly influential over the years).

From cover to cover, this is stunning stuff, fully aware of what’s come before but fully voiced and presented as its own accomplished work.  Filled with grand Lovecraftian kookiness, actual characters, and story progression, and – hey, why not – fun.