Strange things are afoot in Edwardian-era Whitechapel, with sibling detectives Bernard and Felicity Hiltson investigating a mysterious death at a home for old soldiers. What could possibly have killed him, and what exactly is lurking in the attic?

Chris Denton wastes no time in establishing a brilliantly effective atmosphere in this spooky tale of murder in London at the turn of the 20th century; his script does a wonderful job of introducing the characters and their settings with minimal, cleverly delivered exposition. David Hitchcock proves to be the perfect choice in bringing Denton’s writing to life, with wonderfully evocative, Gothic black-and-white imagery.

There’s a superb sense of time and place, with the story also switching gears from murder mystery to, essentially, Edwardian survival horror at a fantastic pace. Despite that, there’s room for an endearing and well sketched supporting cast, and there’s more than one genuinely heart-pounding shock, and several rug-pulling twists, as the story races to its climax.

With plenty of world building detail baked into the story and its horrifying events (without spoiling anything, you’re probably not going to enjoy this at all if you have a very specific and common phobia), I genuinely hope that The Whitechapel Cordon lays the groundwork for more stories featuring the characters and their exploits.

The Whitechapel Cordon will soon be crowdfunding via Kickstarter, and you can sign up to be notified of its launch here. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s the perfect period piece; pretty much essential reading for fans of comic book horror, especially as the darkness of the season has begun encroaching upon us.

Many thanks to Chris Denton for providing me with a digital copy of The Whitechapel Cordon for review purposes.