Vault Comics 2017
Written by Ricardo Mo
Illustrated by Alberto Muriel
Coloured by Stelladia
Lettered by HdE
So to be perfectly honest I was rather content with what Ricardo was doing and presenting us with this weird and kind of exciting take on an old idea. Okay yeah the dollhouse maker has some kind of weird thing going on with him with those flickering almost soul like things dancing around him as if he were eating them. That was different and something that was to be explored and added a whole new element to the proceedings. Now suddenly Ricardo amps this all up in ways that well will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Don’t get me wrong exploring their new reality with that guy thrown in for good measure well that was enough. This is something else entirely. Now the gang has gone and done things that we haven’t seen before as they find themselves in need of finding someone to trust. After all being close to six inches high and surrounded by giants and the dangers the natural world poses well they need help.
The writing here is spectacular! I am enjoying the direction this book is taking as the science fiction runs parallel to the horror and creates something worthy of the Twilight Zone in it’s heyday. I love that there’s this great intelligence behind what we’re seeing as this seeming bizarre and random event has occurred. The characterisation that we see continues to flesh out these characters in ways that make us like them, hate them or make us feel indifferent about them.
The interior artwork here remains impressive to me. From the proportions and the prospective that’s needed to showcase the size differences here to the attention and level of detail in bringing the characters to life as real people is handled extremely well. The way page layouts are used so that they utilise angles, perspective and backgrounds to help the story flow like it does is wonderful to see. The mood, tone, feel and emotions they bring to the page is nice to see and helps understand the characterisation that much more.
That the story direction goes in ways that we do expect and simultaneously veers off into parts and directions unknown keeping us on our toes is a huge factor in my enjoyment here. That the familiarity that i felt before is still reminiscent and yet gone in favour of something newer. I love the fact that his is a prime example of how you can mine the past for ideas without thinking you have to copy and paste it for today’s audience. Where the similarities end and originality begins is where the excitement occurs.
Vault has literally burst upon the scene here with these titles, stories and creators that are basically unknowns who have the talent, skill and love of the medium to really craft, create and tell these immensely interesting tales.