Mirka Andolfo's Mercy: The Fair Lady, The Frost and The Fiend

Mercy #1-6

by Mirka Andolfo, Artgerm (Cover Art)

MERCY, a goth-inspired, Victorian monster series explores topics of "otherness," damnation and redemption, and what it means to be a monster in a horror tale perfect for fans of Penny Dreadful, Crimson Peak, The Alienist, Parasol Protectorate, and Dark Shadows.

The new series by UNNATURAL's acclaimed creator MIRKA ANDOLFO is a gothic horror tale where mysteries and unspeakable sins are blend together in a unique and sensual way.

Washington State, late nineteenth century. During the frenzied historical era commonly known as the Klondike Gold Rush, a mysterious woman arrives in Woodsburgh, a small mining town close to the Canadian border.

It's been a few years since the Swanson mine was closed following the terrible accident that claimed the lives of so many men and women, included the owner's and the city it's still struggling in search for a new place on the map of the country.

Elegant and extraordinarily wealthy, Lady Hellaine arrives in the city accompanied by her faithful butler Goodwill and settles in one of the most luxurious mansions in town. A lifestyle that contrasts sharply with that of the majority of the population, forced to choose between humble crafts and illegal activities.

No one is aware of the reasons that led such a classy lady to move from Seattle to the small village, but her arrival certainly did not go unnoticed. Especially in the eyes of Lady Swanson, widow of the late mine owner and leading figure of the local bourgeoisie. Lady Hellaine's plans will bring her on a collision course with the powerful Lady Swanson, who, for reasons not entirely rational, distrusts the newcomer.

Meanwhile, the streets and surroundings of Woodsburgh are flooded in blood: a heinous creature is killing incautious citizens, wreaking havoc on their bodies. Enough to induce local authorities to impose a strict curfew after sunset.

And with the falling of the first snow, the "Woodsburgh Devil"'s fury seems to have even increased. What's the connection, if any, between this disturbing presence and the ivory-skinned stranger?

Who's Lady Hellaine, really? And what's her secret agenda?

Collects MIRKA ANDOLFO'S MERCY #1-6

Genres: Graphic Novels, Horror, Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Gothic

183 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 2, 2020

About the author

Neapolitan artist and writer, she is one of the most complete and eclectic Italian creators in the international field. Her upcoming Mercy is going to be published almos simultaneously in Italy (November 2019, Panini Comics), France (January 2020, Éditions Glénat) and United States (March 2020, Image Comics).

Her ControNatura (Panini Comics) is one of the most successful Italian series of the last few years. Published in the USA by Image Comics under the title Unnatural/b> , it’s a best seller hit with several reprints already.
There are also Spanish, French, German, Polish, Mexican and (upcoming) Brazilian, Czech and Bulgarian editions.

Andolfo has been collaborating with DC Comics since 2015, having lent her pencil for titles such as Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Bombshells, Teen Titans, Green Arrow, R.W.B.Y. and Hex Wives (published under the cult-imprint Vertigo). Together with the writer Sylvain Runberg, she is creator of The Under York Chronicles (Éditions Glénat).

She also wrote stories for BOOM! Studios ( The Amazing World of Gumball ) and illustrated two issues of the award-winning Ms. Marvel series by Marvel Comics.

In 2012 she created Sacro/Profano (Edizioni Dentiblù), a huge bestseller published in United States, France, Netherlands, Germany, Serbia, Spain.
As an artist she’s drawn comics for Dynamite and Aspen, as well as some short stories for Vertigo and DC’s Young Animal, and she’s actually working on covers for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Valiant, BOOM! Studios, Aspen, Zenescope.

As a colorist, she worked on covers and comics books of important franchises such as Geronimo Stilton, Adventure Time, Ice Age, Peanuts and other series and volumes published all over the world.

During her collaboration with Topolino magazine (Disney’s Mickey Mouse), she has colored numerous covers (including the cover of the historical issue 3000) and stories, working with artists like Giorgio Cavazzano, Corrado Mastantuono and Fabio Celoni.

When she is not working, she loves good food, reading comics and… sharing photos of cats and wolves on Facebook.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man, this is one of those weird comics that almost hits the mark, and then just doesn't.



The art and coloring are just lovely.
But.
Some of the scenes when the creatures appeared were a bit too confusing and hard to visually understand. I'd go back, stare at a panel for a bit, scratch my head, move to the next panel, stop, go back to the previous panel...
Wash, rinse, repeat.
However, considering the art was the main reason I was attracted to this title, it's a somewhat minor complaint.



My biggest complaint is that there are about 3 volumes of story crammed into one. It's just missing hunks of information.
How did these creatures get here? What is this portal thing? What happened to make the mine explode? Why is no one leaving this scary-ass town!



And what the hell are the backstories for all of these characters?!

The monster hunters. <--no idea what their deal is or how they came to be. They just show up and start eating parts of the creatures? What?!
The family that owned the mine. <--WHAT. THE. FUCK.
The son Mercy targets. <--no idea. This guy was straight-up cannon fodder.
The mother. <--did her husband die in the mine explosion or is she married to the old guy who I think was the brother of the guy doing experiments that I thought she was married to?
And what about the dude who was doing the experiments? Why was he doing that? Was he just evil or was there a reason?
The mother's helper dude. <--what the hell was his story?! And how did he end up with Rory at the end?
Joe and Becky. <--I can't EVEN with the missing information on these two. There's a whole 'nother volume needed to tell their story.
Mercy. <--What even was any of that?! She manages not to kill the kid because she called her mom, but then immediately EATS the guy that she has feelings for? Whhhhhy?
Rory <--the ending makes no sense. Shouldn't she have been more creature than Rory? Like what happened to Goodwill? Why did Rory stay Rory and Mercy and Goodwill were both 'creatures' in human skin?
AND WHERE THE HELL WERE THESE CREATURES FROM? What were the 'pods' or 'sprouts'?
And how convenient that their food source in whatever dimension they're from is human brains.


The bottom line is that I felt that this was chock full of half-baked ideas. So, while it's quite pretty to look at, I doubt I'm going back for any more of this.

This was a Halloween gift from a spooky Goodreads friend.
Thank you!

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars ⭐️









Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do I understand everything that just happened? No. Did I enjoy the journey regardless? Hell, yeah.

Mercy is a deeply unsettling, captivating historical horror/SFF crossover full of monsters, both human and otherwise. Equal parts eerie, tragic, and romantic, this was a lovely story with artwork that is, in my opinion, mostly unmatched in the world of graphic novels. I'm willing to admit I was a bit lost at points, especially with how detailed the art in some of the action scenes gets (maybe it's an ADHD issue, but with that much fine lining, I can have a hard time telling where one monster ends and another begins), but I feel like that was a "me" issue, not a Mercy issue.

I strongly recommend this to anyone who enjoys beautiful, fantastical horror graphics and doesn't mind a whole lot of bloodshed.

✨ Content warnings for: violence, mutilation, murder, child death, body horror, child abuse

[L. McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh... this was fucking amazing!

What’s it about?
That’s really hard to describe. I actually tried describing that to someone and they were kinda confused so I’m just skipping that.

Why it gets 5-stars:
The story. It is really cool and unique. I can’t say very much but it grabbed me right away!
The artwork is pretty awesome! It sets the tone, illustrates everything very well and is just amazing looking in general.

The characters are well written and interesting. I sometimes complain that as much as I love the genre, I often don’t care what happens to characters in horror. That isn’t the case here, I cared about them very much this time.
This book is exciting and intense in every issue. I never felt bored while reading this!
The horror elements are amazing! The monsters look bad-ass, there’s some disturbing violence (that will satisfy fans of gory stuff but it doesn’t rely too much on that), the atmosphere adds to the horror tone and my gosh, Andolfo has proven herself as a master of body horror in my eyes!
This book is never predictable. I could never guess what would happen next! Even the few times I thought I knew what was about to happen it went a different direction and completely surprised me.
While far from being a romance book, there are some romantic elements to the story that work quite well.
This book can get surprisingly emotional.
The ending is a great ending that would work on it’s own but could (and in 2021 will!) lead to a sequel.

Overall:
Mirka Andolfo has recently been getting more popularity amongst American comic fans and she fully deserves it!
Mercy is a masterpiece in the horror genre. It’s a great story with beautiful artwork, bad-ass horror elements, a very exciting tone, interesting characters and emotion. Andolfo writes and draws this book so well! If you’re into horror I can’t recommend this enough.

5/5

[Mel (Epic Reading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent gothic horror read! Mirka Andolfo brings his classic sense of twisted horror to the comic page again. And in classic Andolfo style, nothing is quite as it may seem, twice over. The twists and turns in this story (and that the characters have) are all well done and lead the reader to a place of realizing that no one is really good or bad. We’re all just trying to exist in the happiest way possible. Even if that’s at the expense of others.
There’s also a cleverly veiled warning about taking too many drugs; and putting your faith in people you don’t really know well.
Overall I adored this. Not only the wonderful comic illustrations; but how clever the writing is. And you can’t go wrong with the variant covers for the individual comics. Each one of them is an absolute gem of art.

[Amy Imogene Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Stunning artwork. Absolutely stunning.

Story was extremely compelling for the first half, but as we tumbled toward the end of the volume I found myself disengaging due to a lack of mystery and a lot of more standard/done before climax sequences.

Don’t get me wrong, still a very cool story that I enjoyed quite a lot, but the ending section did let me down compared to the very engaging first half. I think the story failed to explain enough by the end, and then over-explained to death the character relationship arcs.

Either way, a full 4 stars for the art and perfect first half.

[Anniken Haga · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say that I don't quite understand all the hype around this comic. The art is beautiful and there are some interesting elements, but the story felt unfinished. There's supposed to be this amazing character-growth story in this comic, but it just skipped over all the growth part and went from A to Z within a page. And while there were some horror-elements, I didn't feel the horror of it. It was just a lot of gore, it seemed to me. The creatures were interesting to begin with, but considering the story, some of the interest soon fell away. Or, I should probably say, considering the LACK of a story, for there wasn't really a plot until the last third of the volume.

I know there's a sequel planed for 2021, and at this point, I'm on the fence in regards to whether I should buy it or not. I've read some stuff by Andolfo by now, and unfortunatly I feel that her other stuff is like Mercy. There's a good idea and framework, but the actual picture is poor or missing altogether.

[Rachels_booknook_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art 😍

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parasyte meets Crimson Peak, I liked the setup, the lead, the art and the coloring, but I began losing interest half way through it, story felt a bit uninspired. Funny that they mention Penny Dreadful as reference, because the main character looked a lot like Natalie Dormer, I bet she was Mirka's inspiration, maybe there's a movie adaptation already in the works, I'd watch that.

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous artwork that is at once lush and disturbing, and an interesting story. Mercy is a horror graphic novel with a gothic vibe set in the late 1800's. Into a small town with a history of violence and a mine that has been closed comes a beautiful and mysterious woman with something monstrous lurking within...

I'm not sure I fully caught everything that happened because there are a lot of moving pieces a an emphasis on visual storytelling, but I enjoyed this. It was creepy, had a cast of interesting characters, and a satisfying plot arc. Worth a look if it's your vibe! Note that it is horror and gets rather gory. I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

[Ashley Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the aesthetic. As usual, the cover art was more my speed than the in-issue art. The story was nuts and I'm not sure I understood all of it but the horror felt like if Lovecraft wrote vampires, ish? Weird but I liked it!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Mercy" by Mirka Andolfo offers a captivating blend of gothic atmosphere, historical setting, and horror elements, all wrapped up in stunning artwork. Set in the late 19th century in the mining town of Woodsburgh, the story revolves around a series of brutal killings by a mysterious monster coinciding with the arrival of a striking stranger.

One of the undeniable strengths of "Mercy" lies in its artwork. Andolfo's illustrations are undeniably breathtaking, capturing the eerie ambiance of the setting and the haunting presence of the titular character. The attention to detail and the atmospheric use of color contribute significantly to the immersive experience of the narrative.

In terms of storytelling, "Mercy" initially grips the reader with its compelling premise and mysterious atmosphere. The tension builds steadily as the townspeople grapple with the escalating violence and the enigmatic arrival of the stranger. However, as the narrative progresses towards its conclusion, some aspects of the story begin to falter.

One notable issue is the perceived lack of mystery towards the latter half of the volume. What starts as a promisingly enigmatic tale gradually loses its sense of intrigue, leaving the reader with unanswered questions and a feeling of dissatisfaction. Additionally, the story feels somewhat unfinished, as though certain plot threads are left unresolved or hastily tied up.

Another challenge while reading was the occasional difficulty in following the narrative. Despite the initial engagement, the storytelling can become disjointed at times, making it hard to fully immerse oneself in the unfolding events.

"Mercy" offers a visually stunning and initially compelling gothic horror experience set in a richly atmospheric historical backdrop. However, the story's descent into predictability and its unresolved plot elements detract from its overall impact. While the artwork alone may be enough to entice some readers, those seeking a tightly woven narrative may find themselves disappointed by the uneven execution.

[Anete · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 Zīmējumi lieliski radīja gotisko šausmu noskaņu, sižets arī noskaņu nemaz nesabojāja.

[Corrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mirka Andolfo’s Mercy Vol. 1 – The Fair Lady, the Frost, and the Fiend is a sensual Victorian horror series (6 volumes) about otherness, damnation, redemption, and what it means to be a monster in a horror tale.

Read the very detailed blurb to get all the info you need, I won’t go into rehashing it here.

Well now, this was sufficiently gruesome and gory! The art work is great but the story gets more and more confusing near the end. It was hard to keep up with who is inhabiting who’s body. Entertaining if you like plenty of splatter ;-)

3.4 Stars

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man this book was so frustrating. Gorgeously drawn and the Rory character was so precious. However, the book is written is such an incompressible fashion it’s hard to follow. Everything was so cryptic I was like what the hell is going on???? By the time I got past the halfway mark, I was just blindly reading to say I finished it. No clue what the hell just happened. I would say I would try and read this again later with fresh eyes to see if I “get it” then, but I know I won’t.

[Mery ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.7/5

All my comic reviews can be found in the links below:

Mercy #1 : Mercy #1

Mercy #2: Mirka Andolfo's Mercy #2

Mercy #3: Mirka Andolfo's Mercy #3

Mercy#4: Mirka Andolfo's Mercy #4

Mercy#5: Mirka Andolfo's Mercy #5

Mercy#6: Mirka Andolfo's Mercy #6

[Theediscerning · Rating 1 out of 5]

A pair of vampiric beasts enter a small town out in the sticks near Seattle, where a mining disaster once happened. Does their new location get them near to their new goal, or just local human cattle for them to suck the life out of with the help of the squelchy tendril things they spew up when they want to feed? And what does it have to do with the devilish creature the natives are already living in constant fear of – or some latent memories that seem to rise to the surface? Well, by the end I still had no idea, for this got more and more confusing, until I could hardly tell what the heck it was I was looking at. Visually dynamic, with a good palette of blues and purples, but boy it needed a lot more clarity in the telling. One and a half stars.

[Gabriell Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nikdy jsem si nemyslel, že bych potřeboval vidět gotický horror, který vypadá jako by ho kreslil Instagramový umělec. A ejhle, bylo to o chlup lepší než bych čekal.
Od Mirky Andolfo už mám za sebou Unnatural - sexy (doslova) zvířátka zavřená ve fašistickém státě, podmícháno řádnou dávkou mysteriózna - a teď už i Mercy. A pořád se nic moc nemění. Pokud se vám tenhle styl kresby a coloringu líbí, tak máte vyhráno. Pokud ne, tak příběh to úplně nezachrání, protože po celou dobu čtení si budete říkat, že tohle už jste někdy viděli. A nebudete daleko od pravdy. Příběh není z ranku originálních, je prohnaný řádnou tunou klišé, ale kouká se na to hezky a odsýpá to tak akorát. Jenom se prostě nemůžu zbavit dojmu, že tohle jsou věci ke kterým se vracet nebudu, protože je to takový spotřební materiál.
Sice 4, ale hodně s odřenýma ušima. A to jenom proto, že jsem se zatím tohohle insta-stylu úplně nepřejedl.

[Eridiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was immediately drawn in because of the gorgeous cover and the art style inside. It reminded me of Monstress where even gory and disgusting scenes look beautiful. I couldn't get enough of the gothic creepy atmosphere and wouldn't mind having some art framed on my walls, it's that gorgeous. The plot was okay and again reminded me of Monstress with similar looking monsters living in human bodies.

5 stars for the art and 3 stars for the story, hence the overall 4 star rating.

[Dev · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley

The art in this is gorgeous but I have little to no idea what the actual plot is supposed to be. There are some vampire-esque things that are also possibly aliens and some people hunting them and I'm unsure if they're just normal people or some other kind of supernatural thing? A lot of people seem to love this so maybe it's just me but while I adored the visuals I just could not keep ahold of the plot at all. Definitely seemed like a few things needed to be streamlined and other things needed to be explained in more detail.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gory and yet not really that creepy in terms of other horror tropes. It was an intriguing concept with gorgeous artwork, but in terms of the characters and plot, it became rather convoluted and rushed.

[mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

this comic was absolutely insane. the art was so incredible and really brought the story to life. the plot and characters just grabbed me by the heart. 5/5

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really so good. It was gorgeous and had an intricate plot that really kept me reading. I am excited to hear there will be a “sequel” of sorts.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reads kind of like Locke & Key, but instead it's all about the monsters and has none of the creativity of the keys themselves. Otherworldly parasites inhabiting bodies and preying on the life energy of humans, while dealing with their own increasing humanity as they take on more of their hosts' qualities. The art is gorgeous, especially when the parasits reveal their forms, but the story was hard to follow. The ending was rushed, but at least something happened then. I'll probably read the sequel series once it's released in trade, though I have little hope for it. At the very least Andolfo makes some pretty pictures.

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Mirka Andolfo's Mercy: The Fair Lady, The Frost, and The Fiend " is a slick and visually lush horror- suspense tale that will keep most readers on the edge of their seats. Set in a frontier town during the late Victorian era this classic Gothic tale balances the horror and mystery elements along with striking illustrations, elegant character designs and truly horrific monsters. Steampunk fans should find this fast paced and engaging tale of terror and intrigue to their liking.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Image Comics for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[traumatized man · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful art is an understatement on this one.

Mercy is one hell of a complicated character and multiple people at once, Rory, I love her ending. I love her beginning.

Goodwill surprises me. He was a funny Butler given Alfred vibes but evil Alfred and gay Alfred all in one

Rest in peace. All the people who died in this book, rest in pieces more like.

Okie dokie good day.

- From your favorite illiterate child, that somehow knows how to read, I blame the demons who ate me and I have a parasite now.

[Jade Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading chapter one I was unsure what to think of this but I ended up really enjoying it. The mystery element was my favourite part - it felt overwhelming at times but that just proved how detailed and rich it was. And although we only got to spend a brief amount of time with the characters, they all felt complex and realistic. The tone was intriguing and dark and the art a pleasure to explore. Definitely keeping an eye out for more from Andolfo!

[Jeremy Fowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mirka Andolfo's Mercy: The Fair Lady, The Frost, and The Fiend is full of betrayal, mystery, and cosmic horror.

This is a story of a found family (of sorts). But before all of that, the mysterious lady comes to town and with her brings attention to a host of terrifying slayings that are happening all across the city. Who is involved and who is behind all of these devastating losses? This is answered with gusto in this graphic novel that I flew through and fell in love with.

I enjoyed the twists and turns that this story took. Not only was it full of beautiful illustrations that immediately grabbed my attention, but these illustrations made me FEEL the connections between these characters. I think it portrayed the emotional impact of this story. I was taken aback at how much fun this story was to go through. Not only is it full of action sequences and mysteries that need to be solved, but it also has a host of loveable characters that you will grow to love (or hate).

The tagline says you'll like this if you enjoyed Penny Dreadful and that is absolutely true. I am a massive fan of that series and this story brought me right back to why I love these period pieces so much. I think you will enjoy this as much as I did, so check it out!

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have found Mirka Andolfo through their earlier works: Engel/Duvel (aka Sacro/Profano or Un/Sacred for the rest of the world). I love their artstyle and so I had to try out this book when I spotted it on Twitter. I have to say that a big chunk of the book I was severely confused, like I had missed a memo or ten. Haha. I still got into the story and I love all the things that happened (OK, maybe not the gory people are split up in two and their organs are everywhere parts, haha). The story got really interesting as we learned more and more on the MC and her "butler" Goodwill (whose will definitely wasn't good). We learn what happened in the mine, what happened some years ago and why this town is afraid of Strangers. I wasn't always a fan of Rory because of how she acted, however, I did grow to like her. There is a lot of relations and secrets and I loved figuring it out. The designs and art is just *chef kiss* perfection. The ending was WOW and WOOOOWWWW and maybe also EWWW. And I loved the epilogue and what that entailed, oh yes. Recommended!

[Bexx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for this arc!

I really loved the art work and the story line. I enjoyed all of it the story line was so intriguing.

I want to get myself the physical copy to add to my collection and be able to look more at all the detail of the art work.

I want more from these characters I hope more comes out!