Mad Cave Studios 2020
Written by Jay Sandlin
Illustrated by Atagun Ilhan
Coloured by Maria Santaolalla
Lettered by Justin Birch
After surviving the first round of the Tribunal, Hellfighter must brave the Labyrinth in order to make it to the next stage of the tournament. However, he's in way over his head and is aided through the trial by two new companions, Glass Assassin and Deadeye. Will they make it to the end or will a new mystical foe stop them from reaching their goals?
Last issue I pointed out that this was more on the amateur side in regards to the work I was seeing. I mean it has potential you can see that on each and every page. Practice doing a title on a regular basis and you’ll see improvement and that’s what is happening here. I have noticed a few things in what we see that make me happy that the talent is there and it’s starting to get better and better. The idea for this book is already amazing and the setting for it is pretty spectacular and to see things advance like they do makes for a good story.
I am enjoying the way that this is being told. How we see the story & plot development move forward through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is laid out very nicely. This is a tournament and the pacing surprises me here and it’s fast but it doesn’t jump all over the place. The way the reader is able to follow along and feel more like they are a part of the story is something that I wasn’t expecting and it’s fantastic. The character development is interesting to me. While yeah Hellfighter is the main character here and we see him in all his rage and not thinking things through, it's his newfound companions or allies that really steal the spotlight. I like how we see everything working together to show how well the book is structured as well as how it creates the books ebb & flow.
These winners of the tryouts really have something to prove and sometimes that gets in the way. By this I mean their nerves getting the better of them. So as they get more comfortable and gain the confidence we see how much more their work grows and it’s just really exciting in my opinion.
The interiors here are finding their footing still. I love seeing the stone work and how the labyrinth is being fleshed out. It gives us that enclosed feeling and how tight the quarters are when it comes to combat. The work and detail in the backgrounds are amazingly well rendered and they are seen a lot more here which is fantastic. This means we get to see some depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The consistency in the faces needs some work still and that’ll come eventually with the more he draws. Gotta pay attention to the shapes and angles as well as distinctive features. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a marvellous eye for storytelling. The colour work is nice to see as well. Just remember that the light source on the main focus needs to follow in the rest of the panel. Otherwise I like how we see the various hues and tones within the colours utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work. Plus the fact that we see those unexpected colours that are a part of things that aren’t normally thought is a huge bonus.
I love Mad Cave Studios, they aren’t afraid to think outside the box and bring us the kind of storytelling that sets trends. They have become a huge part of the industry, for me at least, and they really care about what they bring to the table. This book is a great example of how the potential is seen and given a chance for it to blossom before our eyes. Bravisimo!