The Twilight Zone #3 is written by James Stokoe and published by IDW Publishing. Artwork is by James Stokoe. Main cover art (left) is by James Stokoe.
The Twilight Zone #3 is available from today, in comic book stores and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your physical copy from Forbidden Planet or digitally from Amazon Comixology UK.
Synopsis
Somewhere, there is a war being fought. Two civilisations, each believing itself the summit of power, battle over a holy relic whose function and origin lie beyond their understanding. An army of dedicated knights who defend the item, a horde of zealous barbarians who covet it—neither side willing to cede an inch of ground to the other. But even to those fueled by faith, not all is as it seems…in the Twilight Zone!
Review
As mentioned in my previous coverage of this series, The Twilight Zone is the perfect template for a comic book, allowing different writers and artists every issue to be as creative as they want within the realm of sci-fi, fantasy, or horror. Dan Watters kicked things off with his chilling short story ‘BLANKS’, Tom Scioli leaned heavily into the retro sci-fi aesthetic with ‘A WORLD OF YOUR WILDEST DREAMS’, and now James Stokoe looks to mash genres together with this new tale, ‘THE RELIC’.
Compared to the last two issues, James Stokoe has opted for a more bombastic approach to his story, wasting no time at all at getting straight into the action. Following the perspective of the attacking barbarians allows us to be just as intrigued as they are by what the knights are defending within the walls of their temple. They aren’t fighting for the hell of it; they want to know the secrets that are being kept from them, and this consistently drives the narrative forward from start to finish.
Stokoe also makes the wise choice of adopting an exaggerated, manga art style for this story, which pays off for several reasons. Firstly, this style greatly adds a needed intensity and aggression to the battle scenes and facial expressions. This stylistic approach also works perfectly within the black and white colour scheme of The Twilight Zone, whilst also tonally setting itself apart from the previous instalments in the series.
Though the action sequences are ferocious in all the best ways, it’s Stokoe’s sense of humour that really comes out of nowhere. The comedy mostly derives from the eventual reveal of the titular relic and the “treasures” that surround it. Without spoiling the reveal, the very nature of the relic itself raises so many questions and theories, as a Twilight Zone story should do, but also makes the prior events leading to this moment a lot funnier in hindsight. The context and implications of where this relic comes from act as a delightful punchline for readers, especially when seeing how the barbarians and knights both react to its very existence.
The final pages really drive home the comical nature of this scenario. The idea is so simple, yet it is executed in such a fascinating and playful way that you can only commend the absurdity of it. The conflict at the start is merely there to set the scene; it is the build-up and pay-off which really do the heavy lifting here and showcase a writer having fun with the anthology structure, presenting something familiar and unique at the same time.
As much as I appreciate the stories that revel in the retro visuals and storytelling that you’d expect from The Twilight Zone, it is nice to see somebody using it more as a playground for styles and concepts for a change, something Stokoe excels in with flying colours.
Verdict
‘THE RELIC’ is a great example of The Twilight Zone format being used to its fullest potential. It takes a premise that seems straightforward on the surface, and really pushes the sci-fi/fantasy elements in an inventive and surprisingly humorous manner.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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