Stonebot/Red 5 Comics 2019
By Salvador Sanz
Coloured by Gonzalo Duarte
Translation by Darlo Timarchi
Lettered by Altercoics Studio
Angela discovers the toll her soul transfers have taken as the first volume of Angela Della Morte concludes.
This for me has been one of the best surprises that I have had in quite some time. Not only is the book written incredibly well but the interiors that we see are beyond amazing and the overall effect that Salvador is able to bring to this is breathtaking. We don't often get to see this kind of work from creators in the Western market as much as we from the European market and I personally would like to see more of this! The concept is amazing and to see how this all played out before our eyes as we started on the Moon then through the jungle to the Fluo facility meant we never knew where this was going to take us next. It is the kind of storytelling that excites readers' for we don't know and what we don't know drives us mad and thus ensures that we will return.
I love the way that this is being told. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events occur and how the reader learns information is so uniquely done. Half the time I am not really sure what is going on and what this means and I think that kind of engagement with the reader, where you piece it together in your own mind, is superbly rendered. The character development is also done is a way that let's us explore the characters in different ways. I adore Zebra and while he cannot talk what we see here and through his mind makes me love and appreciate him more. If anything he's the hero of this issue to me and that's completely unexpected. The pacing is perfectly laid out and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it keeps this high tension ebb & flow going throughout.
There is something about the ambiguity and nearly incomplete feeling in the story that makes it unique, without like, equal or parallel. It draw the reader in, keeps your attention and leaves you with this desire to fill in the gaps or blanks. This is fantastic in that regard. The experience that we have and the idea behind what the Fluo family have achieved well it feels like it's something that could never actually happen making it that science fiction psychological thriller that demands to be seen.
The linework we see is so damn good and it just sings on the page. To see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to showcase this level and quality of attention to detail is utterly ridiculous to see. I mean Theo alone is amazing to see and how difficult it must have been to to get that just right has my complete and utter admiration. The composition we see within the panels with and without backgrounds show us this depth perception, scale and bring this overall sense of size and scope to the book. At times it really is creepy as hell and to see the eyes of the (tiger heh) leopard good god almighty was that a moment and a half. The drama created through the artwork here is invaluable to how we perceive the story and Salvador understands this like no other. The colour work is gorgeous as well. The way we see the varying hues and tones within the colours to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is stunning. The dark rainy aspect and yet we still see the shades yeah. Then the more obvious colours and the leopard damn that leopard wow.
Red 5 Comics and by extension Stonebot Comics have placed themselves solidly in my top ten companies whose books I have to read. All their books, not some pick and choose because I am always impressed and elated by the quality of the storytelling across the board. If this isn't on your lips (because your kiss is on my lips) as the best things in life then you have no idea what mindbogglingly good storytelling is.