Scout Comics 2016
Created & Written by A.C. Medina
Illustrated by Kevin Shah
Coloured by Ross A. Campbell
Lettered by Micah Myers
I have to say that i’m wowed by the progression this story is taking. I mean the story of Mikey’s life starting at his arrest and going back to when his life changed and his current path started is full. Full of ups, downs and everything in between and what A.C.is doing with fleshing not only Mikey out but the people around him so that we are getting the bigger picture of how their world actually is has thus far been amazing. I love seeing both sides of the coin being presented to Mikey here. His home life sucks, parents fighting, him and his dad will never get along and how he feels is clearly evident but by the same token Tiggy and how he sees him well that’s more powerful than I could have imagined.
I like that this series is taking it’s time getting the story told. We are seeing Mikey go from moving in to graduating from High School here and all the while it’s some of the best all around world/character building writing around. I mean it’s hard to set up a story like this, move all the pieces into place and demonstrate how they move around the board. A.C. is doing this in what I feel is the right way. No wham bam there we are this is it instead it’s a nice slow boil as we see what we need to to learn the way things here work.
The gang’s leaders are all pieces on the board and the cops well they seem like nothing more than pawns in a chess game no matter how much they’d like to think otherwise. Though our two interrogators seem to be more valuable thanks to this issue and that’s good to see. We also see someone who thinks they are the grandmaster in all this and it’ll be interesting to see what happens with his power plays and if it all comes crashing down around him. From what we see of him and those around him he’s overconfident and that’s a dangerous position to be in.
Mikey is probably one the greatest character finds of this generation. He’s got all the hallmarks to make a stellar hero or a villain depending on what he wants to do. There’s tragedy and strife at home but he’s got support and belief in him to raise above his station from the very figure who brought him into all this. It’s a great dichotomy on display and the way it’s being written in the dialogue really took me by surprise by how much it made me feel.
Kevin and Ross give the interiors this simple complexity that i’m also pleasantly surprised by. I mean it’s kind of on the cartoon side but then again it’s got these incredible moments of intensity that really stand out. Plus there’s one moment when a lab is raided that really goes above and beyond what I thought I’d see here and it just highlighted how talented they are. Plus i’m really liking Kevin’s eye and the way he is able to use pages and panels to get the flow of the flow of the story. There’s some great innovation in what he does here.
With violence, adult language and situations this really is the kind of story where you can’t help but be drawn into this world. Solid beyond what’s expected this will change your opinion of folks who can and cannot rise above their station.