From the brain of the third Madius Comics amigo – Nick Gonzo – comes a new dark and horrific tale about a supernatural detective on the hunt for a missing person that feels like a mix between an occult Columbo and a creepy ghost story .

Publisher: Madius Comics
Writer: Nick Gonzo
Artist: Magician’s House (Art) Alexa Renee (Colour)
Price: TBC

Blythe Corsair is your classic put upon detective who is hired to look into a missing person. However he is no ordinary P.I. as he specialises in occult and supernatural cases so with a quick look into the reading patterns of his missing persons he can see why he is called in.

After the slightly goofy and surreal antics of Gonzo’s 50 Signal we were pleasantly surprised at the dark direction this new offering went in. It feels more like a story that was too ambitious for Madius’ anthology Horrere rather than a continuation of his previous work and introduces readers to both an interesting new character for the Madius line up, but also showcases a real depth and intelligence for Gonzo’s writing.

Although Corsair is your classic noir detective – all shambolic and disgruntled – he has a very British vibe to him which makes him feel different from the norm – especially when you add in the supernatural elements too. He also has a rather throwback feel to those classic TV detectives of the 19760s like Columbo or Kojak, but that darker elements also reminded us of British horror like Don’t Look Now, or European Djallo movies, which means this is much more than just another vanilla contemporary horror or detective tale,

There are some genuinely creepy and unsettling moments in this first issue which are brought to stunning life by enigmatic artist ‘Magician’s House’ whose line work is outstanding with an almost rotoscope style that gives the people a really cold and linear feel to them, as well as a hyper real detail. It reminded us a lot of Dan Goldman’s Red Light Properties, in both style and content. She also uses a dense cross hatch style in places to create some really dark moody moments.

We initially read Corsair in an early black and white version which we though was excellent, and so were grateful to see the colouring from Alexa Renee was relatively subtle and unobtrusive however we think we preferred it without.

The story builds nicely and is just beginning to bubble to the surface, only for it to end and wrap up a little too neatly for our liking. There is a prologue which hints at a wider world, but it is a frustrating ending for what should have been a really great debut. With its dark and sinister tone and really compelling lead character Corsair is a book packed with creepy potential that we hope will be realised soon. With Gonzo flexing his writing muscles in dark new directions and artist Magician’s House bringing to life his dark imaginings, this is definitely one to watch for the future.