Zenescope Entertainment 2019
Written by Dave Franchini
Illustrated by Alessio Mariani
Coloured by Juan Manuel Rodriguez
Lettered by Kurt Hathaway
The truth is revealed! After the shocking ending of last issue, all the cards are on the table. Mel, Candlestick and Alex are in trouble and Belle must hurry if she hopes to save the lives of those she loves most. Be sure not to miss the penultimate chapter in this pulse-pounding series!
If y'all don't think that this is a pure super-hero style book then you are definitely not reading it because what I am seeing here is the launch of a heroine who with her support team are amazing to follow. The way that Dave is writing this is utterly amazing and how he's managed to sneak in some surprise layering has me gobsmacked! That I hadn't seen this coming or playing out the way that it has is something we don't see much these days and to find a book, a story or a writer who can do this is one that you follow forever. I don't say this lightly but it is a fact that I am going to be following Dave's career and not miss anything he's doing because he has the charm, uniqueness and charisma that shines through his work well yeah.
I am thoroughly impressed with the way that 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 is presented exceptionally well. I am enjoy how both threads are being woven so that they will become one and how Belle is experiencing her own demons in ways she never thought she would. Which leads me to the character development that we see here. I am enjoying seeing how the range of emotions that each of the characters are demonstrating. The way this is done is for maximum effect on the characters and thus it gets transferred to the reader in a flawless way. The pacing here is excellent and the way it takes on this journey weaving through the twists and turns, maybe a few revelations along the way. Everything we see works in concert to create the ebb & flow of the book and highlights how it's structured.
I am completely in love with the interiors here. The linework is truly exquisite and how we see the varying weights being utilised to bring out this amazing attention to detail is marvellous. We see so much in the linework here and the way we see the lips in close up with their creases blows me away. Seeing sharks and other marine life through the windows is beautifully done to give us that sense of where they are. I would like to see backgrounds being utilised to make us feel more enclosed or in something that's underwater which we're missing. Also I wish we didn't have so many coloured backgrounds in the chopper because that too is a great opportunity for that cramped quarters feeling to shine. Don't get me wrong what these are are suggestions and only that because the work really is mindbogglingly good. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this incredibly amazing eye for storytelling. The colour work is gorgeous and how the hues and tones within the colours are utilised to showcase the shading, highlights and shadow work is beyond what we hope for. The shine on metal, the sepia tones in the back stories I mean these are what make a good colourist excellent.
There is nothing about this book that isn't sensationally well done. The writing, the layers we see in this, the characters and characterisation as well as they twists, turns and showing of true colours I mean dame. Then to have this level and quality of artwork as well as the lettering I mean this is what we live for in comics and you aren't going to find anything that's better.