My Rating
Cindy Barns was an up and coming stage actress from Somerset, Kentucky. She moved to the big Apple last year and recently her star is on the rise. You may not tell from her shanty apartment in the old East Village, but Cindy is meeting the right people, her love interest is a big time playwright, and her last performance was a smash hit. Then Erika stepped in.
She was just a stage hand. The young and beautiful redhead became obsessed with Cindy’s boyfriend Brad. Erika got her hooks into him and his personality completely changed. His physical appearance changed as well. It was like Erika cast a spell on him. What could Cindy do? Brad looked very ill and wanted nothing to do with Cindy or the theater.
Then Cindy remembered that little shop on Christie Street. She passed by it a few times a week. In its window advertised “Knowledge of the Esoteric and the Occult”. Welcome to Madame Xanadu, Advisor. Cindy grabbed her coat and made the way to possible answers.
Reviewer Notes
So I’m trying to dabble a bit more into the DC Comics supernatural side. I enjoy the DC Comics horror titles over mainstay characters such as Superman. Madame Xanadu seems to be one of those more successful characters in the genre who pops up at various times throughout the years.
So I decided to start at the beginning. Doorway to Nightmares is a five issue run that introduces Madame Xanadu, a mystic who battles various supernatural elements within the DC universe. I was hoping to get a better understanding of her character and issue one did not disappoint. Her role seems to be that of an advisor, forcing the person seeking her help to fight their own battles. I’m not sure yet if Madame Xanadu is bound by some unknown law or if it is of her own decree.
This story reminds me of Marv Wolfman’s attempt at the Night Force title. There is a recurring character dealing with random horror story type events. The old way of producing horror comics was to combine three or four random stories from multiple writers into one book with no continuity. Then wash and repeat.
The writer David Michelinie and artist Val Mayerik do a great job setting the atmosphere for a lower New York area character. I would recommend Doorway to Nightmares if you are into slow boil type storytelling. There is no pew, pew, pew in this book. I’m giving issue one four stars.
Tag(s)
Character(s)
Writer(s)
Penciller(s)
Inker(s)
Colorist(s)
Letterer(s)
Cover Artist(s)
Editor(s)
