Dark Horse Comics 2017
Written & Lettered by Alex de Campi
Illustrated by Chriscross
Coloured by Snakebite Cortez
Marcus King was shot in the back, paralyzed, and left for dead. But fate, a beautiful woman, and science intervened. Now King has returned, better than ever, on a mission to take down the most dangerous adversary from his past: the Dutchman.
I will say this much Alex is writing one hell of an interesting story here. I like the fact that we are seeing how she’s got the then and now going on and it’s clearly understandable. The way we are getting to see how all this is playing out gives us the best opportunity to get to know Marcus as a person and that means we get that chance to actually like him and root for him. The fact that the company man came, saw what was in his bag and tried to kill him, with a pillow, was telling. Telling because a pillow really guy was an amateur. Though it’s inferred that this sets the stage for him to embarrass the company and those responsible for his predicament.
Oh it is so well done too! Actually I’m pretty impressed all around with what we’re seeing here. The pacing, the story structure, development and characterisation are all so solid and strong and make for some really compelling reading. It has the perfect flow to keep us entertained and informed. While motivations all around may be somewhat mysterious love and affection tend to make people do strange and unpredictable things. I’m guessing that is why his doctor took him on the way she did and why she introduced him to….
Now Chriscross and Snakebite, really guys, do some incredibly good work on the interiors here. The linework is clean, strong, fresh and exciting to see since it’s got such great attention to detail. They don’t shy away from anything here from backgrounds, to shading what we see on the pages is gorgeously rendered. The use of page layouts through angles and perspective really help make the flow of the story run smoothly.
So we get a lot of information this issue. It feels like an oversized or giant issue but it’s not and that thrills me to no end. It means that the way this is presented to us is darn near perfect. So we see how Marcus got shot, got his legs back, was introduced to the man who helped with that, where and how he’s stationed now. We see how he’s been able to fund his little crusade of finding the Dutchman, who shot him in the back and left him for dead. I don’t think there’s been one stone left unturned.
I’m invested in these characters, excited by the course of events and thrilled for where I see things going. This may not have spandex or super powers but it does a little classic science fiction and all types of good old fashioned war tactics to place Marcus on par with any fictional spy you can think of.
Dark Horse Comics keeps bringing us these fantastic stories that somehow are able to blend reality and fiction.