What happens when you combine spiritualism, Edwardian England, and John Wick? The answer is Jamie McKelvie’s One For Sorrow and while that trio of elements may sound like they don’t go together, One For Sorrow #1 comes together to deliver an intriguing tale of class, crime, and revenge all while wrapping it in a mystery that keeps the reader guessing on nearly every page. It’s not a perfect kick off for the series — there are some parts of the issue where things feel a little dense and it isn’t clear how things connect — but there’s an epic twist at the end that sets everything up for an intriguing ride going forward.
One For Sorrow opens up in the East End of London in 1900 where a man finds himself stalked by a seemingly otherworldly entity that knows details of his greatest sin: he not only looked the other way when it came to some murders but kept the secret about what happened for a decade. It’s a scene that sets the tone before we get a bit of a jarring shift to an upper-class afternoon where a woman of some wealth and her friends prepare to see a medium in the hope of confirming that she has some sort of aristocratic heritage — Mrs. Sutton and her husband it seems are new wealth trying to prove they “belong”. But the seance doesn’t exactly go as planned for the paying customers when there’s a terrifying display from the “other side” that leads to a further appointment and deeper revelations on the true nature of the medium. We also get the story of a barmaid named Bess who is doing her best to get in good with the shady businessmen operating out of the pub where she works all while in another story, a long-retired detective is again on a case. The individual stories seem unconnected, but by the time we get to the final pages, there’s a shocking revelation that changes everything and makes clear exactly how it’s all connected — and that there is a young woman who is not only seeking revenge for those murders mentioned in the opening, but who may have a little something supernatural going on herself.
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Overall, One For Sorrow is a strong comic. McKelvie does a very good job of creating a compelling mystery and populating it with characters that you want to know more about. Bess, the barmaid, is a particularly interesting figure, one who becomes even more fascinating by the time you get to the final pages of the issue — and without getting too into spoilers, there’s a pretty important revelation about her that really amplifies things. When the twist at the end pulls the individual stories presented in the issue together, that’s when the comic really works because the wildly different characters we’re introduced to start to make sense. It’s just the getting there that takes a little patience. Individually, the story about Mrs. Sutton and the medium as well as Bess’s story in the pub are both interesting without any other connections, though in a vacuum the detective’s introduction as well as the tone-setting cold open both seem ill fits. This leads to a few places where the reader may need to pause and ask if they are reading one cohesive story or parts of an anthology. While that ultimately is a narrative choice to make the twist regarding the masked figure from the opening work, it does slow things down a bit.
Artistically, One For Sorrow is a nice book to look at. McKelvie makes great use of realism in the art which gives the characters a great deal of expression. It’s in those expressions that much of the story is told. There’s strong communication of emotion and atmosphere in the faces of his characters — something that works even in the mask of the mysterious, potentially supernatural being we’re introduced to in the opening, the terrifying Magpie Killer. This in particular works well because while there isn’t a ton of high-octane action in this issue, it’s made clear through the art that Magpie is not to be messed with, which makes things both fascinating and just a little chilling. Even the use of color does a good bit of storytelling, as the palette changes from setting to setting and enhances the overall experience.
Ultimately, One For Sorrow #1 is a really solid, intriguing start for a series. It has interesting characters, a unique setting that feels worth exploring, and the central mystery – or more accurately, the motivation of our unifying character – is a fascinating one. With strong art that conveys a lot of subtext and emotion, this is a story with plenty of layers to be peeled back. Once you get past some of the parts that feel dense and perhaps a little disconnected, the result is a story that makes you eager for the next issue so you can keep reading and it will be interesting to see where things go from here.
Published by DSTLRY
On November 6, 2024
Written by: Jamie McKelvie
Art by: McKelvie
Colors by: McKelvie, Courtney Vokey
Letters by: Ariana Maher