Vault Comics 2017
Written by Adrian Wassel & David Booher
Illustrated by Nick Robles
Lettered by Deron Bennett
Abandoned at the Midnight Gates, facing a wall of armed aliens, Madsen does what he does best: He takes a running leap off something tall. This time into a river...of acid. Washing ashore in an even stranger ward, Madsen receives help from a gang of orphans. They take him to their guardian, The Malady. With a name like that, what could go wrong?
One of the things I like about this series is that it feels so different to everything else I am reading. The idea that below the surface of our planet there is a prison for aliens that the world at large has no idea exists well it’s one of those ideas that is intriguing. Even so because nothing about it is normal there’s a world within the prison one of many layers, sections and the like controlled by various gangs or species. A tesseract where they go in and don’t come out.
The way this is structured is great as we see Madsen get duped and end up on the run unable to contact anyone outside and not knowing who to trust on the inside. Plus having been made he’s got a price on his head as it were and is facing a gang ready to off him. Yeah the guys have come in guns blazing with the ebb & flow of what we see here as action, story development/advancement and characterisation all combine in how we react to the story. It starts off strong and keeps the pace and intensity even in the downtime.
While Madsen may not be making many friends in is stay here perhaps there is a chance for him to find an ally. Someone whom he would least expect as she, a child, is one he’s already encountered. I like it as well as going to see Malady who is a woman of means and helps the orphans that run around unchecked. Of course in my humble opinion she’s a bit like Fagin for me and that is an interesting twist on things. Regardless they have to do what they have to do to survive and sometimes well those things are what they are.
I am a huge fan of the interiors here. Not afraid of using the two-page spread and filling with the kind of creativity and imagination that make this world even more wondrous and alive. The use of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels is extremely well done and showcase a great eye for storytelling. With vibrant colours and a great flow I would still like to see more use of backgrounds but I won’t be too picky about it.
This issue I do like that we see more of his partner on the outside trying his damnedest to get their communications in working order. No man is an island right and we all need help only I am waiting to see how many more people will introduced as either friend of foe, though allies don’t have to be necessarily be friends and this environment I’ll expect to see allies of opportunity and those are the most interesting by far. That the potential here is only being scratched has that exciting factor to it and the more we see the more we want revealed.
Also there has to be more behind the folks that sent him here on this mission. After all this isn’t a real mission it’s more of a let’s get this guy out of the way mission. So Madsen might know something about something that someone wants to stay secret and the best way is to eliminate those who know about it. If I am wrong I’m wrong but again my mind is engaged now and that means that these folks are doing their job and creating a story and world that excites and intrigues us.