Evoluzione Publishing 2017
Written & Lettered by Guido Martinez
Penciled by Mauri
Inked by Viktor Nava
Coloured by Marcus Odoms
After Battling a Man with razor-sharp skin and being invited to join a gathering for people considering themselves overhumans, Knight managed to acquire another piece of his soul and was approached by the mysterious woman calling herself “Whisper.”
Alright so this issue opens up with a look at the bad guys. It’s meant to give us raw look at what they are capable of while giving us the slightest of clues as to what’s happening. Creepy, powerful and more than a little deranged and with the victims running for their lives yeah it’s a nice thing to see. While i’m all for learning more about the bad guys I feel a little disconnect from what we see happening and the way story goes.
Let me explain what I mean, I think a narration of these events by Whisper to Knight might as she explains who these people are why they need to be eliminated from the game board would have been much stronger. As it stands we as the reader get that but I think having the whole done by Whisper to show the importance of what she wants done would have been stronger for the overall story. Now i’m not the one writing this so my idea might not have a whole lot of merit but from a reader/fan’s point of view is where i’m coming from.
Still that’s just one minor thing because we do get to see their depravity and we see how Knight is persuaded by Whisper to help in her crusade. I have to say that the characterisation that Guido brings to this is really strong and nice to see. While Knight is still trying to recover from merging with his new host and regaining part of his soul while the whole back and forth conversation with Whisper goes on is a joy to see.
I’m enjoying the interior artwork here as well. I will say as a fan of the use of backgrounds I wish we’d see more of them in play as when we see them they do wonders in expanding what we see, feel and get off the page. The utilisation of page layouts through the angles and perspective are handled extremely well. There’s a nice flow to the book visually which helps a lot. The body proportions and how all this comes across, costumes or not is wonderful and there’s a nice look of creativity on display here.
I don’t know how many issues this is intended to run but from the pacing i’m going to say the opening arc is about four issues in length. I like the way that the Knight has been manipulated by Whisper into helping him though to be honest i’m not sure it would’ve taken that much manipulation to begin with. He seems like a man who enjoys a good fight and inbetween gathering pieces of his soul letting off a bunch of steam seems like a good idea.
I like that this isn’t just another story about a vigilante who lost his parents and takes up fighting crime. There’s a nice uniqueness to this and while I have my ideas overall this is one of those series to watch. It is going to be exciting to watch Guido and Mauri grow and evolve as the book continues.
The Kickstarter for bringing this issue to us starts June 2nd so look for it and help the world see these folks grow, evolve and bring the next wave of fresh, new and exciting storytelling.