IDW Publishing 2017
Written by James Venhaus
Illustrated by Pius Bak
Lettered by Marshall Dillon
Well now this wasn’t what I was expecting or prepared for so kudos to the gang on that one. While I encourage you to go out and experience books based on what I think of them and my recommendations it’s ultimately up to you if you like it or not and for whatever reason so many are not able to think of getting books that aren’t from the “Big Two.” I just don’t get that way of thinking I mean IDW has some incredible series out right now and this one I gotta tell ya will rank high among them.
So the whole thing about this one is that it centers around a group of high school students. Organised by one kid in particular who seems to be rather invisible at his school so yes a true loner/outcast if you will. It seems that there was a death of a Father Shawn and this kid David says he knows the truth regarding it and needs to do something about it. It’s a great, strong premise and I like how James has gone about putting it together for us.
David is the central character here and I like that he’s got this sense of purpose and is firmly convinced in what’s right and wrong. Because he doesn’t have friends he’s willing to do this whole thing alone by himself and in his trial run he realises that he’s ill equipped to handle what he wants to do. So with that revelation he tries to go about things a little differently and this has a domino effect.
So what James does is have David and by extension us meet a few more like minded individuals that are persuaded to join him in his quest. I like it, I like how organic it all feels and how someone like David can know of just those who can help him while essentially they have no idea who he is and that’s got a huge appeal for me. I think the characterisation is super strong and there’s humour mixed in with the whole serious business of taking down Father Shawn’s killer.
At first I thought the interiors were very indie in nature but as things go along there’s really this nice feel you get from them. Not quite so detailed and yet neither is it abstract there’s enough to tell what the cast looks like and bring us their emotions but still leave room for growth. The way that page layouts are utilised with their angles, perspective and use of backgrounds make the flow of the book extraordinary. There’s a real quiet charm to what we see and what Pius does sneaks up on you.
For a first issue this one really grabs the attention, imagination and leaves you with one heck of shocking ending. It’s draws you perfectly and lulls you into this false sense of kids joining forces to right the greatest wrong they know. While we get to see how the kids are and what David is doing the man he’s after is also spotlighted and we get to see a lot of him as well. He’s the local crime lord and while he may not seem like the mob type i’m sure Walter White didn’t seem like a Meth cooker either.
This is fresh, innovative and so much more than I could’ve hoped for!