Meet Dr. Inaya Jibril, a Muslim woman and expert on the darkest parts of the occult. She’s so calm and serious that she makes John Constantine look like one of the Ghostbusters. In The Sacred Damned #1, written by Sabir Pirzada and illustrated by Michael Walsh, she depicts the interesting and horrifying case of Kyle Glassman, a star college football player.
The book leans heavily into body horror from the first page, as the highly athletic Kyle suddenly begins to gain weight, growing from 50 pounds to 100 pounds to 200 pounds. The man who was once a physically perfect and handsome women’s killer transforms into a man who can barely get out of bed and walk. Anyone who has unknowingly gained weight can relate to the feeling that their body and the world are out of control. And the situation gets even worse when you find out what you were eating when you frequently blacked out. Is it some kind of demonic possession?
Once inside Dr. Jibril, what a wonderful entrance! Michael Walsh’s art not only conveys the harrowing and terrifying ordeal that Kyle goes through, but also gives Dr. Jibril character and depth. She stands with her hands on her hips and enters the story with a splash page. It’s not necessarily a heroic pose, but it says a lot nonetheless. Just from this one page, you can tell that she’s smart, confident, and doesn’t suffer fools lightly.
Author Sabir Pirzada briefly interrupts the story to share tidbits of information about her, including notes from a podcast interview and drawings from her childhood (revealing that she has struggled with the occult for most of her life). do. It’s enough to give us some insight into her deep knowledge and background, yet still retain something wonderfully mysterious about her.
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She takes a “tough love” approach to helping Kyle, which lasts until the second half of the book. After diagnosing Kyle’s problem, you’ll still have a hard time getting him to believe in you and do what you say. Because, after all, a few months ago, Kyle was a super popular guy on campus who was an unknown, and he was a narcissist on that level. It doesn’t shake easily. There is a battle of wills between the two before the real battle begins.
Too many horror stories are steeped in Western religion, especially Catholicism (The Omen, The Nun, The Exorcist, and countless other copycat films). It’s fascinating to see a Muslim protagonist and a supernatural threat based on Islamic mythology. I thought I knew a lot about Djinn, but after reading this issue I realized that I actually didn’t know anything about Djinn. Here you can learn a lot about jinn and other mythical creatures that appear in Islamic stories. And when they physically appear, they’re terrifying, and their showdown with Dr. Jibril is nail-biting.
The book is part of Image’s The Horizon Experiment series, with each issue of the series serving as a “pilot.” If an issue is popular and sells well, it will be spun off as its own miniseries or ongoing series. I hope The Sacred Damned continues and we get to see more of Dr. Jibril in the future. If you like great horror stories with unique protagonists, pick up this book. You won’t be disappointed.
“The Sacred Damned” #1 Review
Sacred Damned #1 Review
The Sacred Damned #1 introduces a fascinating new master of the occult who comes face-to-face with terrifying beings drawn from Islamic mythology.
Dr. Inaya Jibril is an endlessly fascinating hero, and I hope to see more of her in the future.
Michael Walsh’s art is detailed and surreal, making the body horror and supernatural elements of this book truly frightening.
I would have liked to know more about Dr. Jibril’s background, but to be fair, there’s only so much you can fit into a book.
