A new killer has joined the party. But lurking in the shadows are things even the murderous party aren’t ready for. Your Major Spoilers review of Vinyl #3, awaits!
VINYL #3 (OF 6)
Writer: Doug Wagner
Artist: Daniel Hillyard
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Editor: Keven Gardner
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 25th, 2021
Previously in Vinyl: Walter continues to go even deeper into the sunflower death cult’s underground gore bunker, his serial killer friends decide to split up to sew their unique brands of chaos.
A NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES
Vinyl #3 opens up soon after the events of the second issue. The twins have discovered the scene of the new killer Renni’s latest victim and they are excited. Meanwhile, Renni is with Walter and Vic, bathing in the blood of another victim. We then get a flashback to see Walter recruit Renni for his rescue mission and we learn that the two have a deeper history. Elsewhere the other killers are investigating the bunker where they discover what appears to be a zombie. Walter and Vic have a little conversation where we learn why Walter listens to music all the time. In a different part of the bunker Renni discovers evidence of torture, but is unaware that something is watching her. Back with Walter and Vic, the two discover the person they’ve been trying to rescue, Dennis, who’s being held by a butcher. The butcher and Vic get into a fight and afterwards they discover Walter’s MP3 player is broken.
THE CHARMING LIVES OF MURDERERS
It’s not uncommon to come across a comic book that tries to make the reader “root for the bad guys”. Typically though, they don’t do this while still letting the characters be as gruesome and bloodthirsty as they’re implied to be. That’s not the case in Vinyl #3. We see people bathing in blood, making clothes out of skin, the previous owner of said skin, and various other forms of gore and brutality. Yet, the killers here have such unique and charming personalities, you’re still pulling for them. It’s really these personalities and their interactions that are carrying this series, which is a good thing because there isn’t much happening here in terms of things actually happening. This issue is basically the obligatory “getting to know the main character a bit more” issue. A lot of what we see here is information about Walter being presented either through straight info-dump or through interactions with the other characters. It’s not necessarily bad, but it does slow things down for the series that had been ramping up steadily in the previous two issues. But, it does end on a plot twist that will hopefully have interesting ramifications going forward.
THE BOTTOM LINE: A LOT OF PERSONALITY, NOT A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT
Vinyl #3 takes a step back on the murder (a little bit) to show the reader some insight into Walter and some of his personality quirks. We also get some fun character interactions that really help to establish the unique personalities at play between the various killers. After that though, there’s not much going on here, just a lot of hints and nudges. 3.5 out of 5 stars
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Vinyl #3
Vinyl #3 relies heavily on its character development and interaction, but does little to move the story forward.
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Writing6
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Art7
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Coloring8
