Ahoy Comics 2019
Bright Boy Noah Zark True Identity
Stuart Moore & Peter Gross, Mark Waid, Tom Peyer & Alan Robinson
Giulia Brusco, Lanna Souvanny Lee Loughridge
Three dazzling short "pilot" stories from AHOY's finest - and you get to vote on which series continues! In "Noah Zark" by Mark Waid and Lanna Souvanny, an alien boy is kidnapped into an interplanetary zoo-and becomes the protector of the animals. In "True Identity" by Tom Peyer and Alan Robinson, we learn what secret anguish drives the most beloved superhero on Earth! And Stuart Moore and Peter Gross's "Bright Boy" tells the grim tale of the world's smartest human and the havoc he leaves in his wake.
Well if this is an audition for the readers to choose which one deserves it’s own ongoing then I have my own opinion on that. I have to say I love Ahoy Comics and this continues to show why as it’s really done in a manner that showcase the talent here. Three stories, three creative teams and three very different takes and from what I can see all of them deserving of their own books. So let’s break things down a bit shall we?
First up is actually True Identity. My favourite of these stories as I see more potential here than I could have thought possible. The way that this is being told so that we are seeing just enough of the life being led here to make us want to see more. The way this is structured is phenomenal and then of course there’s the characterisation as well. There are a number of people here that have the kind of spotlight on them that make us want to see more. Dallas Emily Doyle for instance and she’s not exactly a good person, possibly good at her job but not a good person and I'd like to see her either change, grow and evolve while learning about her own faults. Oh and everything we learn about Penultiman does indeed come across as more original then I was expecting. This is fantastic and while we get this superhero that on the surface may seem familiar it’s anything but and that’s best of it all.
Do like the interior artwork here as well. It is everything we could want and more in a classic superhero book. The linework that’ utilised to create the attention to detail as well as the way we see backgrounds in play make this something that I cannot help but want to see more of. The colour work is utterly marvellous as well, combined with the multiple styles of the linework, see cross-hatching and the like, really bring out a modern throwback sensibility.
So Bright Boy is an interesting one as well. There are a lot of weird twists and turns in this one and for whatever reason once you start to get into this it just seems to get more and more bizarre. So much so that it kind of has this crazy infectious feeling that gets inside your head and can’t help but want more and more. I still want to see more about who does what and ends up where. All I know is the idea that the smartest of men having nuclear meltdowns really does have this appeal to a whole twisted warped sense of right and wrong. I dunno it’s hard to explain but it is the kind of story that would make something along the line of Vertigo jealous. The characterisation here is so freaking good and the dynamic between the characters is something I think the world needs more of.
The interior artwork here also has something of a more traditional look to it. The attention to detail however is utterly marvellous and the fact that so many of the computer screens show that they are being used blew my mind. There really is a lot going on here and the fact that the little details that we see which are often overlooked which is so terribly fantastic. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective show one solid eye for storytelling.
The last story is more inclined to be something of an all-ages style story. There is this whole lost boys vibe going on here that I just love. Plus there are a few things in this that kind of combine the fantasy of Pokemon and a Free Willy sensibility that just captures the imagination of the reader in ways that you can’t technically put your finger on exactly but you understand it on a cosmically inner-self kind of way. It is the feel good kind of story that you love to keep as that guilty pleasure. It really is utterly charming and the artwork here is beyond gorgeous.
Ahoy has this special kind of magic in the books that they are putting out right now. That this is like an audition for them is also something different that we don’t see all the time. I appreciate that they are taking their own sweet time and not trying to flood the market beyond the means of market sustainability is a nice way of doing the right thing.