Dylan Dog 416: The Prisoner, review

Dylan Dog 416

Over 30 years of nightmares for Dylan Dog and 80 years of great successes for Sergio Bonelli Editore, the historic Milanese publishing house that this month celebrates the important milestone together with all the heroes who made it famous. A cover in line with the other publications, one of the commemorative medals depicting our Dylan and a story that will see the Craven Road tenant detained by the police ... what happened to him?

We are about to read one of the stories that promises to be one of the most disturbing and suffocating in the history of our beloved Nightmare Investigator.

Dylan Dog, detained in the nightmare

It is not the first time that Dylan finds himself thrown in the cell. Rather. Over the years, the event has taken place many times. But what changes this time, besides being in handcuffs and unjustly behind bars? In reality, the story imagined and written by Mauro Uzzeo, grappling with the nightmare investigator for the first time, conceals nightmares and much deeper questions, involving a subject and something of inestimable value: freedom. But let's go in order.



After a romantic dinner, Dylan and Ilary run into the police, with two patrol officers intent on brutally chasing a homeless man from the street. The couple, however, seeing the arrogance of the agents, decides to intervene by asking them for explanations. But in turn they will find themselves under pressure from the agents who decide to take Dylan to prison ... simply because he has no documents in tow.

The one just described may seem like a pretext incipit, but the story takes a very unexpected turn that plunges Dylan into one of his worst nightmares. Imagine already being in an isolation cell, narrow and dark (did someone say claustrophobia?), Without anyone listening to you and with no chance of being able to meet your loved ones. After all, the one narrated by Uzzeo could be one of the many realities that take place every day in prisons in every corner of the globe, we are not in front of the usual black tale.



In that precise moment the nightmares that assault our clarity and that of Dylan, begin to take on the strangest and most mysterious forms, catapulting us through history on an authentic journey made of pain, injustice and monstrosity of the human soul. This will lead Dylan and the reader to reflect on the most cherished things in the world that make us feel truly free. And to crave them again.

Uzzeo's inmate is a very introspective story, perhaps not suitable for all tastes, but fully in line with the nightmares Dylan has accustomed us to over the course of hundreds of adventures . The dreamlike and dark vision of the true sense of freedom comes straight to the heart. And the finale ... or rather the partial epilogue of this adventure that will end only next month with the issue 4717 entitled The Hour of Judgment, which will also see the return of two great authors: Barbara Baraldi and Angelo Stano.

Inside the darkness

This album also marks the debut of Arturo Lauria, an illustrator already dear to the Americans who met Colonus published by Dark Horse, in Italy by Edizioni Inkiostro (you can find it available on Amazon) and other works always published by the Abruzzese publishing house.

In this book we see him at ease with strong, full and dark lines. It is precisely darkness that fills his tables. Lauria is looking for a style all of his own, which perhaps will not be fully appreciated by readers accustomed to more refined and defined traits, but we assure you that the vision of the newcomer in Dylan's stable fits perfectly with the dark and oppressive tones of the story told. . New, different and spot on.



The cover, on the other hand, in line with the colors of the Bonelli house celebrations, actually did not fully convince us. Gigi Cavenago, highly acclaimed cover artist of the regular series, has undoubtedly accustomed us to very different standards, this time giving us a cover that is almost out of context (wanted by the theme in common with the other newspapers, so we clear it but we don't like the cover anyway) and a gaunt and sketchy Dylan… who can't stand the comparison of Julia or this month's Tex. The difficult sentence is up to you.

The price increase is inevitable and foretold, while for the series "not all evils come to harm" we noticed the increase in the weight of the cover, which will certainly allow better conservation of the register; and a complete coloring of the second and third covers, a coloring that will become - as reported by Davide Bonelli - the standard for the next issues.



Then let's not forget the 80's commemorative medal years of Sergio Bonelli Editore, which obviously this time represents our beloved Dylan. So watch out for the next issue that will give readers the Groucho medal.

The prisoner is only the first part of a story that starts in an unconvincing way, only to recover and set the reader on an oppressive journey and introspective. A good test which, however, also needs a worthy finish. The appointment is therefore always here in exactly one month, also reminding you of the excellent Dylan Dog Oldboy n.6 still on newsstands and reviewed on these pages. In the meantime, don't forget your documents at home… you never know.

Dear Returners and Aficionados from the Craven Road Area,

Monday, May 3 at 9:00 pm on the Twitch channel of Culture Pop by sportsgaming.win Italia, we will talk about Dylan Dog, from the register The prisoner just arrived at the newsstands, and we will have the honor of hosting the Bram Stoker Award Alessandro Manzetti and the illustrator Stefano Cardoselli who will draw for us live!

https://www.twitch.tv/culturapopita

Don't miss it!