Aftershock Comics 2018
Created & Written by Garth Ennis
Created & Illustrated by Goran Sudzuka
Coloured by Ive Svorcina
Lettered by Rob Steen
Special Agents Shaw and McGregor handle the routine cases nowadays, which is just the way Shaw likes it. She’s pushing 40, a borderline burnout, the ghastly memories of her last investigation still clinging like shadows. McGregor is younger, more dedicated, hanging onto some measure of idealism whatever the world might throw at him.
When two fellow agents go missing inside a Long Beach warehouse, Shaw and McGregor are sent to investi-gate. But what they find waiting is far from routine, as the local police have already discovered to their cost. Before the night is out, our heroes will encounter terror beyond their most appalling nightmares—in a place where the night may never end at all.
While Garth continues to regale me with his war stories I sometimes forget the man is a prolific writer who hasn’t faced a genre he couldn’t master. Now as far as I can tell this is going to be told in real time so where each issue ends the next picks up there. So by the time the arc is done the first night will have passed and I am looking forward to seeing how it all plays out. There is something interesting about the way this is being structured. From the opening which will come into play in a way we won’t expect until the final page here this is going to be a hell of a ride.
Part of me wishes that current events in the world weren’t so easily relatable to. The world now faces a greater up-tick in the wanton killing POC we see every day and how the racial implications are no longer hidden. It is a scary time that we let fear control our actions and anyone with an internet connected phone is able to weigh in with their bigoted point of view. Hell this is all scary enough of as it is so that Garth is able to pick up the thread and turn it into something else, something darker and whole lot more scare worthy well it’s beyond what we should come to expect.
The ebb & flow of the story from the opening onward almost manages to lull us into some sense of false security. So Agents Shaw and McGregor end up providing us with some of the new looks at old problems as well as a look at their working relationship. There is some excellent background information happening here that works alongside the story and gives us a nice look into who they are people. It is strong, simple and rather easy to follow and leaves a whole slew of openings that may or may be take up later.
I like the interior artwork here. It has an everyday Agency look and feel to it. If that makes sense at all because the drab similar wardrobe alongside the city as a backdrop and character. These aren’t superheroes and shouldn’t look like em I like that we see such a wide variety of people utilised in these pages. The way we see the page layout utilised and then the angles and perspective we see in the panels showcase a wonderful eye for storytelling. When we see the utilisation of backgrounds they do so much to expand the story and I really like how that works.
The level of tension, disbelief and sheer anticipation that Garth brings to this is pretty damn spectacular. By the last page you want to know and see what other have and that we have not you’ve got that curiosity which ensures you’ll be back. This is story I hadn’t seen unfolding the way it is and that’s the kind of excitement I look for.