Image Comics 2021
Written by Mark Millar
Illustrated by Matthew Dow Smith
Coloured by Giovanna Niro
Lettered by John Workman
The first arc of the sequel to the smash-hit Netflix show comes to a stunning conclusion as Chloe and Brandon’s children go head to head, and not everyone in this book is getting out alive. Just when you thought we couldn't top this series, it suddenly goes to the next level. Details of this extra-sized issue must be kept under wraps for story purposes, but you have our word—YOU WILL NOT be disappointed.
When they say “YOU WILL NOT be disappointed” they mean it. Because this issue really just goes and takes things to a level that you don’t expect to see, why don’t you expect it well it’s not printed on the dial that’s why. Caius is a real piece of work and if you’ve been paying attention you’ve known this but now is the time for all his machinations to come to fruition as he reveals himself and his plans. Oh my stars and garters this issue just takes you to church and serves you up on this silver platter with everything that is presented, revealed with all the twists & turns and revelations that occur. I wasn’t sure you could do as much as this in an issue so thank googly moogly this is a double sized issue.
I am blown away by how well this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job bringing their ever changing and evolving personalities to the forefront. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages your jaw will hit the floor and you’ll be left wide-eyed and incredulous by what you see.
I am completely and utterly impressed by the way we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I am also liking the way that these layers open up new layers to be explored. Whether the next arc is going to explore them remains unknown at this time but what we see adds some great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.
This is the kind of work that I expect to see from Matthew. The linework is clean, crisp and strong and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work is extremely well rendered. How we see backgrounds enhance and expand the moments as well as how they work within the composition of the panels brings out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a solid eye for how colour works.
What an issue to end this arc on! Who will be left standing and when all the dust clears remains to be seen. I do know that we see a lot of death and fighting going on here and there are plenty of surprises in store that’s for damn sure. What we see is just bloody brilliant and as there’s no clear way to calculate the body count at this time so now we have to wait for the second arc in the run to find out. Mark outdoes himself with this issue as the writing is mindbogglingly good while the characterisation is delightfully creepy and the interiors are very solid. Now I’ve got the chills and this isn’t going to leave my brain anytime soon.