In this review of The Thing On The Doorstep #2, Edward begins a relationship with a rather bewitching lady…but who (or what) is she?
The Thing on the Doorstep #2
Story: H.P. Lovecraft
Writer: Simon Birks
Art and Main Cover: Willi Roberts
Variant Cover: Abigail Harding
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Dates: March 18, 2026
This review contains spoilers
We start off The Thing on the Doorstep #2 with Edward attending a demonstration of sorts at Miskatonic. A whole crowd of students is watching as a woman stares outside, willing a storm into existence. Curious, he starts to talk with her. Her name is Asenath Waite, and she’s from Innsmouth. She does another demonstration for him: she calls it hypnosis, he’s sure they’ve switched places.
As they spend more time together, he introduces her to his friends the Uptons. They’re glad he’s found someone…but there’s something off-putting about her.
Winter of 1928 brings their wedding, along with news of a trip to Asenath’s hometown to get some stuff for their new place. That next spring, Daniel goes to their new place to check up on Edward. The new décor and just everything about the whole situation is off-putting. But they do hope to visit each other more soon; they miss one another.
Summer: the Uptons visit the Derbys, only to be escorted out at Asenath’s command when Daniel asks Edward about married life.
That winter, Edward is looking like hell by the time he and Daniel meet again. Daniel gives him a book as an anniversary gift and offers his support if Ed needs anything.
Later on, Carla notices how worried her husband is and offers to check in, herself. She nearly gets run over by Edward (and is surprised that he’s driving in the first place).
A week later, Edward arrives to apologize for the near-accident and to inform them that he and Asenath will be away for a while. No forwarding address is given (but plenty of red flags are).
So, The Thing on the Doorstep #2 definitely gives a lot more context to the state in which we first see Edward in the previous installment. Last time, I got the vibe that it was primarily related to the occult texts he’d been so invested in, but then Asenath enters the picture. The fact that she’s from Innsmouth, and Innsmouth is one of the locations that comes up in the work of H.P. Lovecraft…that’s the final nail in the “OKAY, this lady’s not good news” coffin.
Now, even if we don’t factor in the paranormal aspects of this woman (the storm-summoning, the purple eyes, her use of hypnotism, the downright horror movie visual of her face when she stared at Daniel’s son), the way her relationship with Edward is portrayed feels a lot like a domestic abuse situation. The whole thing is taking a visible toll on his health, she’s slowly driving a wedge between him and his friends—his support system—and isolating him. Everyone outside of their relationship can tell that there’s something up with this whole thing.
During that first meeting between Edward and Asenath, during her demonstration, we see them swap eye colors for a moment. After reading this issue, I went back to the first installment, when Edward is first shown at Arkham. It was stated at that point that it wasn’t really the Edward Derby that the Uptons knew and loved, so I took a better look at his eyes. Lo and behold…they were Asenath’s purple eyes rather than Edward’s natural blue.
One thing I noticed, as well, with the artwork in The Thing on the Doorstep #2 was that there were numerous panels where Edward’s eyes couldn’t clearly be seen. Where it was hard to see who was truly in control at that moment, and I think that was an excellent decision.
Another artistic element I’ve noticed: the Uptons tend to be shown wearing lighter, earth tone colors as opposed to Edward (especially after his relationship’s started up) and Asenath. It’s a nice visual way to show that she’s the one pulling him toward the darkness, while they’re trying to bring him more into the light. One side’s offering love and support, the other’s bringing control. And if Edward’s remark near the end, about how Asenath “doesn’t like other people interfering. Which is ironic, really.” is any indication, he’s aware of the control.
But given the state he’s in during issue #1, this awareness hasn’t really helped him at all. Which just makes the whole situation even more nerve-wracking.
So far, this title’s steadily ramping up the creep factor, and it’s doing so quite well. I did enjoy the previous installment, but this one may have been even better, and I look forward to seeing the rest of the pieces filled in.
Final Thoughts
The Thing on the Doorstep #2 definitely answers a few questions that came up last time, revealing more pieces of Edward’s unfortunate fate. Even if the first issue didn’t quite grab you, this one makes it worth it, I think.
