It's hard to believe we're nearing the end of the Faithless cycle of stories, which is where I was introduced to the unbelievably talented Maria Llovet. I've since gone on to read everything from her that I can get my hands on, and every one of them has been spectacular. I cannot believe how strong she is as a storyteller. She's prolific, too--I want to say she had more than three series out in English last year, but don't quote me on that.
Billed as "An erotic depiction of faith, sex, and the devil in the tradition of The Devine Comedy" (great modesty there, right?), the series made me stand up and take notice not so much because of the lurid plot but the amazing way in which Llovett structured her pages. The story itself very much feels like a more literary take on Italian horror movies (but that's a far less catchy marketing angle). Faith is a young artist who gets involved with people whose ability to seduce others is supernatural, and each issue so far drags her further and further into their bloody web of death and desire.
It's a clinic in creepiness with a lot of sex included in a way that a movie trying to get a widespread release couldn't manage--and that a B/C picture director wouldn't have the budget to manage properly. Azzarello and Llovet not only opened the series well, they kept it going through a strong second act, which is no mean feat. Now they're back to close out Faith's story--and it's not looking good for her.
Here's the PR text on the setup:
Nine months after her mysterious disappearance, Faith suddenly drops back onto the map. While the art world debates whether her absence was a masterpiece of performance art or just a publicity stunt, Faith retreats to Louis’s studio to recover from her journey into the unknown. But soon her best friend Ginny begins to realize that something is very much amiss with Faith. Where was she for nine months? And why does Faith suddenly seem so obsessed with Ginny’s son Jacob?
I'm not sure how readable this is if you haven't already read parts one and two, but really, you absolutely should if you're a fan of horror with a strong sexual element. I'm not talking the slasher type, either, more of the psychological side to it all. This has been a mental mind trip along with a visual treat, and I can't wait to see how Faithless ends its run.
Fortunately, the wait isn't long--Faithless III Issue 1 comes out next week, February 9th, 2022, at all good comic shops and your favorite digital device.
We don't always get many visuals on these, but Boom! provided some internal pages. I'll leave you with two of them, so you can be further tempted to enter Llovet and Azzarello's world...
