Nerds That Geek Comic Book Review - 'Tales from the Darkside' #3: 'The Black Box - Part Two'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Deep down, there is one thing we all truly fear...losing control. Be it giving in to our tempers, or perhaps the vices we are ashamed of, we work hard to keep those respective 'darksides' to ourselves and where they belong...in the shadows and recesses of our soul. But what happens when the worst case scenario arrives and the ugly parts of us that we keep hidden within are unleashed?

Do we say goodbye to our friends when our tempers flare up non stop? Do we let our vices take over our lives? Most likely, our friends and family would step in to get us the help we need, but for those without friends and family...the results could be disastrous and in the comic world, the IDW revitalization of Tales from the Darkside decided to take this notion one step further, by personifying the worst parts of our souls in 'The Black Box - Part Two'.

When we last left Brian Newman, he was mere moments away from being free at last from the monster that plagues his dreams and causes harm to those around him; Big Winner, and thankfully the delicate surgery performed on his brain to remove this being from his life turned out to be a complete success. But what the scientists at Briterside are completely unaware of, is that by trying to change the chemistry and composition of Brian's fragile mind, they have unleashed true terror upon the world. For while Brian sleeps and heals, Big Winner is free to do as he pleases, and he is going to unleash revenge upon anyone that has ever harmed Brian in the slightest...

It seems as though with every issue of this comic, Joe Hill manages to recapture the magic more and more of this iconic series and this issue is no exception to that unspoken rule. This go round, Joe has managed to bring the gorier side of the show back to life as Big Winner begins his wholesale slaughter of those who have 'wronged' Brian and the blood is thrown about the pages of this issue with glee. But what makes this episode even more like the regular show, is that it continues to captivate and ignite the imagination by bringing forth so many questions. For example, is Big Winner truly a manifestation of psychic power from within Brian...or is he some kind of supernatural being that attached itself to the poor man and has been with him all the way.

Heck, this issue even manages to become philosophical in nature, speaking to exactly what we discussed earlier, the struggle to keep the worst parts of ourselves under wraps because now that we can see what Big Winner is capable of, we understand completely why Brian has worked so hard to keep himself away from other human beings and protect them from this awful being within. As an added bonus as well, another first for the franchise comes into play here since I was under the assumption that this was a two part fiesta, and well...this is turning out to be a three parter, with the epic conclusion now looming before us and well, I love it. This has been quite the engrossing story, and I'm dying to see if we will learn more about Big Winner and what he really is...and if he can ever be put back under control. Guess we'll find out in Issue #4, until then.

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