
Image Comics 2020
Written by Sean Lewis
Illustrated by Caitlin Yarsky
The team behind hit comic COYOTES returns for an all-new, two-arc maxi-series. There's a drug called Bliss wiping away memories in Feral City. A good-hearted young man, overwhelmed by a deathly sick child and distraught wife, makes a deal to become the personal hitman to three gods, killing those in their way and sending memories down the river of Oblivion in exchange for his family’s well-being. Breaking Bad meets Neil Gaiman's Sandman in an urban fantasy unlike any you've ever seen.
This is a very intriguing book and I am not altogether sure what it is I have just read and I am okay with that. This does an excellent job in getting the reader engaged in the story, I mean seriously you get invested before the last word of the first page, and making them want to see more. The fact that we aren’t privy to what has caused this uproar, at least not yet, is fantastic as it lets the reader speculate and wonder which of course is engaging your mind. It is so intelligent and smartly rendered that it feels highbrow and yet completely accessible as well.
I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told. How we see the story & plot development through the way the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented perfectly. The character development is phenomenal and how we see the characters being presented versus how we see them in the situations and circumstances they find themselves in is so contrastingly smart. The pacing here is superb and how it takes us through the pages revealing the story as well as the twists and turns along the way showcase how everything works together in creating the ebb & flow.
How we see the book being structured is great. The way that we see the story move throughout the pages is captivating to me. There is this familiar yet ethereal quality to what we see as the division in class and the prejudices that result are on full display here. There are few words I could choose to adequately describe the way I experience what I am reading here. It is strong, resonates and leaves a very powerful impression upon me and I’m betting you’ll have your own that’s unique to you.
The interiors here are amazingly well done. The linework we see is gorgeous and there are some great strong, bold lines and some soft and delicate lines that weave around and through each other as they create the attention to detail that we see. Also the backgrounds here make me so very happy and how they add to the scenes and the moments as well as bring this depth perception, sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the book. The creativity and imagination in what we see and the sheer expertise of how the panels are filled is what helps make this a truly magical read. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is divine! The choice of colours and then how we see the various hues and tones within them being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is sensational. This is what we love about comics and take for granted, the colours and how they work and how shades and tones help create dimension.
Spectacular debut issue. Also that this is going to be an 8 issue maxi-series, two arcs of four issues, is perfect. It has a very definite ending and they plan on telling a complete story and in today’s industry I think that is fantastic. This is engaging, intriguing, mystifying and fraught with danger and dilemma’s so why not come and sit a spell?