Alienated #1
Boom! Studios 2020
Created & Written by Simon Spurrier
Created & Illustrated by Chris Wildgoose
Coloured by André May
Lettered by Jim Campbell
Acclaimed writer Simon Spurrier and artist Chris Wildgoose present a subversive coming-of-age story about having all the power to change the world but the unready hands to truly wield it. Three teenagers, each an outcast in their own way, stumble upon an unearthly entity as it’s born. As they bond over this shared secret and the creature's incredible abilities, it becomes clear to the teenagers that their cute little pet is a superpredator in the making—and it’s in need of prey. Guided by the best intentions at first, the teens' decisions soon become corrupted by adolescent desires, small town jealousies, and internal rivalries, sending them into a catastrophic spiral of their own making.
First things first Run don't walk, Corre, no comines, to your shop or simply call, message them or however you get your boos ASAP! There's a reason the first issue sold out before hitting shelves and by golly you don't want to miss this! This is the years hottest debut and it's well deserving of me saying that!
Simon really manages to do something special here and in some weird way I feel it's a modern day science fiction take on Stand By Me. As odd as that sounds I hadn't quite realised it until I started writing this but it really does feel that way to me. The opening introduces us Samuel, Samantha and Samir oh let's not forget Leon too as they all head to school and how Leon affects each of their lives. It is poignant, powerful and completely true of being a high school student at given point in time in history and I know I feel that connection and it pretty damn near immediate. There shouldn't be a person alive, unless you were completely home schooled, that won't be able to relate to what is being portrayed here and it's powerful stuff.
The way that this is being told is practically perfect in every way. The story & plot development that we see through how the book is structured, how the reader learns information and how we see the sequence of events unfolding is bloody effin brilliant! The character development is utterly sensational as we get such a good look at three very different kids and the world that each lives in. The pacing is superb as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way and it keeps the reader glued to the page. The way this all works together to create the ebb & flow for the books is a kind of lulls you into this amazing cacophony of the unexpected.
The interiors here are so gorgeous. The linework is laid down with such aplomb and the varying weights being utilised to bring out this level ad quality of attention to detail is so gorgeously rendered. The way backgrounds are utilised throughout makes me happy! They do wonders in setting tone, mood and feel as well within the composition in the panels bring this depth perception, scale and overall sense of size and scope to the book. And the detail oh the detail and that extends to the colour work as well as Samir's pants more than adequately demonstrate. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show us this really rising star's eye for storytelling. The creativity and imagination we see, especially that two pager and the last few I mean wow. The colours here are amazing and to see and sometimes they just a smidge past expectation and it works superbly that way. To see how the various hues and tones within any given colour are utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is sublime.
Look regardless of what I say or think or feel I think you should check this out and see for yourself how well this book is done. Maybe you'll see other connections, feelings or even comparisons I don't know, I hope you'll let us know I'd be interested in hearing that. For me this now blew me out of the water but they did it with the power of a single feather.
Boom! Studios 2020
Created & Written by Simon Spurrier
Created & Illustrated by Chris Wildgoose
Coloured by André May
Lettered by Jim Campbell
Acclaimed writer Simon Spurrier and artist Chris Wildgoose present a subversive coming-of-age story about having all the power to change the world but the unready hands to truly wield it. Three teenagers, each an outcast in their own way, stumble upon an unearthly entity as it’s born. As they bond over this shared secret and the creature's incredible abilities, it becomes clear to the teenagers that their cute little pet is a superpredator in the making—and it’s in need of prey. Guided by the best intentions at first, the teens' decisions soon become corrupted by adolescent desires, small town jealousies, and internal rivalries, sending them into a catastrophic spiral of their own making.
First things first Run don't walk, Corre, no comines, to your shop or simply call, message them or however you get your boos ASAP! There's a reason the first issue sold out before hitting shelves and by golly you don't want to miss this! This is the years hottest debut and it's well deserving of me saying that!
Simon really manages to do something special here and in some weird way I feel it's a modern day science fiction take on Stand By Me. As odd as that sounds I hadn't quite realised it until I started writing this but it really does feel that way to me. The opening introduces us Samuel, Samantha and Samir oh let's not forget Leon too as they all head to school and how Leon affects each of their lives. It is poignant, powerful and completely true of being a high school student at given point in time in history and I know I feel that connection and it pretty damn near immediate. There shouldn't be a person alive, unless you were completely home schooled, that won't be able to relate to what is being portrayed here and it's powerful stuff.
The way that this is being told is practically perfect in every way. The story & plot development that we see through how the book is structured, how the reader learns information and how we see the sequence of events unfolding is bloody effin brilliant! The character development is utterly sensational as we get such a good look at three very different kids and the world that each lives in. The pacing is superb as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way and it keeps the reader glued to the page. The way this all works together to create the ebb & flow for the books is a kind of lulls you into this amazing cacophony of the unexpected.
The interiors here are so gorgeous. The linework is laid down with such aplomb and the varying weights being utilised to bring out this level ad quality of attention to detail is so gorgeously rendered. The way backgrounds are utilised throughout makes me happy! They do wonders in setting tone, mood and feel as well within the composition in the panels bring this depth perception, scale and overall sense of size and scope to the book. And the detail oh the detail and that extends to the colour work as well as Samir's pants more than adequately demonstrate. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show us this really rising star's eye for storytelling. The creativity and imagination we see, especially that two pager and the last few I mean wow. The colours here are amazing and to see and sometimes they just a smidge past expectation and it works superbly that way. To see how the various hues and tones within any given colour are utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is sublime.
Look regardless of what I say or think or feel I think you should check this out and see for yourself how well this book is done. Maybe you'll see other connections, feelings or even comparisons I don't know, I hope you'll let us know I'd be interested in hearing that. For me this now blew me out of the water but they did it with the power of a single feather.
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