Insane Comics 2016
Written by Tyler Carpenter
Illustrated by Trevis Martinez
Lettered & Coloured by Tyler Carpenter
It’s series like this that continue to prove that small press companies like Insane Comics really deserve your attention and patronage. What Tyler has come up with here is fantastic. Last issue we were introduced to Ace and his father, the Father, as well as that the world has actual demons in it. How they all come together we have no idea only that there seems to be some connection to Ace and his father.
After Ace is attacked in his apartment by a demon he goes out in search of the thing he wounded. Some people would take some time to I dunno bandage themselves and change into fresh clothes but not Ace he’s too determined to figure out what the hell is going on. Something I too am wondering and it’s also something that Tyler is scripting out to be quite an interesting tale. The pacing, structure of storytelling and content are extremely well done so that it captures the reader's interest and imagination.
Trevis and Tyler make a really good team. The interior artwork is really rather intriguing all on it’s own. There’s a great kind of simplicity to things as well as this almost Manga kind of style going on. The colouring is great for setting moods and the limited use of backgrounds doesn’t really upset me, i’m big on backgrounds for the way they flesh out scenes. The use of page layouts through angles and perspective are well utilised and we get a great amount of emotion from the characters.
I like that Tyler keeps up the cycle of revelations while leaving more unanswered questions. The more we learn the more questions there are to ask and it’s that kind of storytelling that keeps us coming back for more. We also are introduced to a new player in this little drama, one who knows about these demons and has her own strikeforce set up to combat them.
Not only is the story strong and well structured but the characterisation is fantastic. Ace is relatable to and one of those guys who has so much anger and conflict within him. His relationship with his father after his mother went missing is strained pretty much to the breaking point, if it were a rubber band it would show the first signs of ripping from being stretched so far. He’s the good guy we want to root for and to succeed.
Insane Comics continues to be home to some great quality books by creators who are breaking into the business. If you see them at a con grab a bunch of books or you can head over to their website and order physical or digital copies and I promise you are bound to find a few that will change the way you think of small/independent press comics. www.insanecomics.com