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Fearscape (collected editions) #2
A Dark Interlude
Infinite sequels, dark creatures, endless possibilities, trapped in repetition. This is the story of how humanity escapes.
THE WORLD IS TRAPPED AND DOOMED
Trapped in a cycle of infinite sequels, the world is doomed to repeat tired tropes and clichéd conflicts without end. Unless, that is, unreliable narrator, notorious plagiarist, and sequel denier Henry Henry can unleash something so awful it deserves no repetition.
After the stunning success of Fearscape, comes A Dark Interlude, the story of
“—No! The only offence to literature greater than the loathsome synopsis is the sequel. I will not stand idle while some poor excuse for an editor mangles and confuses my story, which is intact, perfect, and concluded, with this derivative drivel. Mark my words, this nonsense has nothing to do with my tale. I am not in it. I do not condone it. And you, dear reader, should not buy it.” –HH
But don’t listen to Henry Henry – the only way to escape is to buy this book!
Collects the complete five-issue series
THE WORLD IS TRAPPED AND DOOMED
Trapped in a cycle of infinite sequels, the world is doomed to repeat tired tropes and clichéd conflicts without end. Unless, that is, unreliable narrator, notorious plagiarist, and sequel denier Henry Henry can unleash something so awful it deserves no repetition.
After the stunning success of Fearscape, comes A Dark Interlude, the story of
“—No! The only offence to literature greater than the loathsome synopsis is the sequel. I will not stand idle while some poor excuse for an editor mangles and confuses my story, which is intact, perfect, and concluded, with this derivative drivel. Mark my words, this nonsense has nothing to do with my tale. I am not in it. I do not condone it. And you, dear reader, should not buy it.” –HH
But don’t listen to Henry Henry – the only way to escape is to buy this book!
Collects the complete five-issue series
136 pages, Paperback
First published June 12, 2021
1 person is currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Ryan O'Sullivan
54 books35 followersRyan O'Sullivan is a comic book writer from the North of England. Best known for original works such as A Dark Interlude, Fearscape, Void Trip, and Turncoat; Ryan has also written for licensed properties such as Dark Souls, Warhammer 40,000, and The Evil Within; as well as music industry professionals such as RZA of the Wutang Clan, Yungblud, and Abbey Road Studios. His original graphic novel, Fearscape, was one of only two comics selected for The Guardian newspaper's "Best Books of the Year 2019". He is one quarter of the White Noise comic-writer studio.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 7, 2023
A fun sequel meta commentary on "sequel crisis".
February 14, 2023
This novel is very well done and packed with some deadpan humor. You follow Henry Henry as he tells you endless sequels of events. He's the narrator and he has the same voice as in the middle-grade novel A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS.
The story begins with a letter from Henry Henry that explains his situation and yes, he did plagiarize his novel and apologizes. But his confession gets more intense and the twist and turns begin.
After a brief introduction of Henry Henry the story begins. The illustrators, I felt did a wonderful job capturing the setting and characters. They're simple drawings but poignant to the story and mood.
Finally, my only regret is that I didn't read the first novel FEARSCAPE VOL 1, because the plot was a bit confusing for me and I think if I read the first novel I wouldn't have been as confused. But once I got halfway through everything fell together.
Overall, I highly recommend reading FEARSCAPE VOL 2: A DARK INTERLUDE, particularly if you're a big comic book fan and love dark, twisted tales.
There is a giveaway until Feb 19, 2023: https://www.kimsbookreviewsandwriting...
The story begins with a letter from Henry Henry that explains his situation and yes, he did plagiarize his novel and apologizes. But his confession gets more intense and the twist and turns begin.
After a brief introduction of Henry Henry the story begins. The illustrators, I felt did a wonderful job capturing the setting and characters. They're simple drawings but poignant to the story and mood.
Finally, my only regret is that I didn't read the first novel FEARSCAPE VOL 1, because the plot was a bit confusing for me and I think if I read the first novel I wouldn't have been as confused. But once I got halfway through everything fell together.
Overall, I highly recommend reading FEARSCAPE VOL 2: A DARK INTERLUDE, particularly if you're a big comic book fan and love dark, twisted tales.
There is a giveaway until Feb 19, 2023: https://www.kimsbookreviewsandwriting...
February 16, 2023
This review covers Fearscape and A Dark Interlude:
These graphic novels were fine, cleverly done even. The author is obviously a deft hand at believably untrustworthy narrators, which is precisely what Henry Henry is. And I found it interesting watching events unfold and then seeing him re-remember them. His delusion is almost a character of its own in the story, book one especially. I also liked the art.
I did see book one’s reveal coming from the first hint. Both books, but especially book two, have some large blocks of print that feel out of place in a graphic novel, and frankly, I started skimming all the literati-babel by the end. I understood what the author was going for, but I got bored with it.
All in all, these were middle-of-the-road reads for me. I am, after all, Henry Henry’s most despised class of people, the casual reader (especially of graphic novels). But I’m sure will find their audience.
These graphic novels were fine, cleverly done even. The author is obviously a deft hand at believably untrustworthy narrators, which is precisely what Henry Henry is. And I found it interesting watching events unfold and then seeing him re-remember them. His delusion is almost a character of its own in the story, book one especially. I also liked the art.
I did see book one’s reveal coming from the first hint. Both books, but especially book two, have some large blocks of print that feel out of place in a graphic novel, and frankly, I started skimming all the literati-babel by the end. I understood what the author was going for, but I got bored with it.
All in all, these were middle-of-the-road reads for me. I am, after all, Henry Henry’s most despised class of people, the casual reader (especially of graphic novels). But I’m sure will find their audience.
May 5, 2023
A Dark Interlude by Ryan O'Sullivan is a graphic novel about the pending demise of the human race. The graphic novel follows a nameless hero on his quest to protect Fearscape and the human world from creatures who are born from fear. The story also follows Henry Henry, who doesn’t want his newest book published but someone will stop at nothing to get it published.
The graphic novel mentions that this isn’t a sequel to Fearscape and that they despise authors who create sequels. However, I feel that there were nuances to the story that I missed because I didn’t read the previous book by this author. The storyline felt confusing and it was hard understanding what was going on and the different characters’ purpose. I felt like I was left with more questions than answers after I finished reading the graphic novel. I didn’t find this graphic novel enjoyable and I wouldn’t read any other books from this series.
The graphic novel mentions that this isn’t a sequel to Fearscape and that they despise authors who create sequels. However, I feel that there were nuances to the story that I missed because I didn’t read the previous book by this author. The storyline felt confusing and it was hard understanding what was going on and the different characters’ purpose. I felt like I was left with more questions than answers after I finished reading the graphic novel. I didn’t find this graphic novel enjoyable and I wouldn’t read any other books from this series.
April 2, 2025
I guess it's appropriate that a comic about the evils of sequels stinks since it is, itself, a sequel. This was awful. It just droned on and on while I kept checking the page numbers to see how much longer I needed to suffer through this. Damn, my completist nature!
March 5, 2023
I have no idea what I just read.
April 13, 2024
I loved the concept, like the characters killing the narrator/storyteller, the little interactions with the reader and the whole hero’s journey crackdown.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews