"To Wed the Devil", the lead story, is plotted by veteran comic illustrator Joe Orlando, and written by Len Wein (Batman, Superman). The artwork was created by Tony Dezuniga, a prolific artist that helped create the characters Jonah Hex and Black Orchid. This offers a little different flavor, compared to the prior issue's artist Don Heck and writer Mary Skrenes.
In the opening chapter, a young woman named Sarah walks through a large mansion and descends a staircase to confront her father's dearest servant, an elderly woman named Agatha. In the confrontation, Sarah discovers that Agatha has been practicing witchcraft. Agatha defends her practice by stating the ritual is for Sarah to find true love. It is clear that Sarah despises Agatha and wants her removed from the mansion. Agatha seems sincere in her efforts, yet Sarah is possessing a seasoned hatred.
In the next chapters, readers are introduced to Sarah's charming boyfriend Justin, a man she hopes to marry. Yet, Sarah's father has another idea. He explains that the family fortune is in ruins, and that the only way to keep the mansion and business is a bank loan. Yet, the only financial institution that may provide funding to this failing family business is a man named Baron Dumont. The price? Sarah's hand in marriage. Sarah hesitantly agrees to go and live with Dumont and take his hand in marriage to save her father's legacy. To salt Sarah's emotional wounds, she's forced to bring Agatha along as her servant.
On the coach road to Dumont's estate, the caravan is robbed and Agatha is shot and killed. A masked rescuer appears and kills the robbers and takes Sarah safely to Dumont's mansion. Yet, things are really quite bizarre there. Dumont turns out to be the rescuer she encountered in the robbery. He degrades Sarah, kills her cat, and then offers her a life of servitude to his desires. When Sarah attempts to escape she is surprised to find Agatha alive. But, there's a plot twist here to delicious to spoil with my review.
As you can imagine, I was quite pleased with this issue. I loved the chemistry between Sarah and Agatha, an emotional relationship that builds throughout the issue – in life and death. Additionally, Sarah is a rather complex character, one that seems to be unjustified in her early motives to dismiss Agatha. The atmosphere in this genre is the main event, and Dezuniga's artwork using deep blues and bright yellow contrasts nicely with the setting's grand rooms and hallways. The twist caught me off guard, providing a Devilish climax. I also enjoyed the written Epilogue.
If you love a good gothic romp...this one is a riot.
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