As the church’s greatest exorcist grows older, the decision is made for him to take on a new apprentice. Your Major Spoilers review of When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee #1 awaits!

WHEN I LAY MY VENGEANCE UPON THEE #1

Writer: Gus Moreno
Artist: Jakub Rebelka
Letterer: Becca Carey
Editor: Ramiro Portnoy
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: January 1st, 2025

Previously in When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee: Father Barrera is a disgraced priest, haunted by his part in the tragic death of a child. As penance, he is exiled to the remote South American town of Puerto Cristina to apprentice under the enigmatic Father Stygian, controversial exorcist.

A NEW ASSIGNMENT

When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee #1 opens in Mexico at a baby’s baptism. Things then shift to a jail cell as an elder Catholic priest visits Father Barrera, who’s confessed to murdering a baby. The old priest has other ideas in mind for Barrera. Things then shift to Strasbourg, France. A priest is visited by another priest named Father Stygian, who has come to investigate reports of a possessed girl. The other priest explains that she wasn’t really possessed, just hadn’t been taking her medications. The two discuss the situation for a while, then Stygian injects the priest with a sedative and begins an exorcism on him. The next day, the elder priest from the beginning of the issue visits Stygian in the hospital and informs him that Barrera will be his new apprentice. Things then move to South America as Stygian and Barrera meet for the first time and Stygian explains the drastic measures that someone has to take if they want to quit the lessons he’s about to teach.

DARK, SUBTLE, SLOW BURN

It might sound odd to hear that a comic book that opens with such an intense and brutal implication, is actually a pretty measured and reserved affair, but that’s what When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee #1 is. Rather than an over-the-top horror movie-esque exorcism, what we get is mostly a long conversation that honestly comes off as a chit-chat between colleagues. As it goes on though, things do start to get more intense and the friendly chat starts to take on characteristics similar to the opening interrogation from Inglorious Basterds. Towards the end of the issue though, things take a melodramatic turn that comes off as a little cheesy, still, the first hints at some deeper mysteries are intriguing and make me curious to see what exactly is going on. We unfortunately don’t get a great idea of what kind of characters Stygian and Barrera are. Styigan’s character moments are reserved for typical grizzled old cop-like complaining and Barrera so far doesn’t get any real exploration at all.

AN UNEXPECTED STYLE

When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee #1 takes Jakub Rebelka’s already expressive and flourished art style and adds a sort of roughness to it, which gives it a folk art quality that fits the more grounded approach to horror this title takes. This style is also surprisingly effective during a few cutaways that happen midway through the issue to scenes from The Exorcist.

BOTTOM LINE: A HORROR COLD OPEN

There’s not a lot of meat in When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee #1, but the little taste you get is enjoyable. There’s a solid sense of tension and if this tone is maintained, this should prove to be a nicely subtle horror series. But we get more promise and hints at things to come than anything to really dig into here so a lot of this issue’s qualities are about potential than what is in these pages. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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