Titan Comics 2018
Written by Ales Kot
Illustrated by Piotr Kowalski
Coloured by Brad Simpson
Lettered by Aditya Bidikar
Original Game by Sony Computer Entertainment
I have been taking chances on the game into comics that Titan has been doing and they’ve been doing such a good job at! Now the creative team here is another added bonus because I do like how Ales’ mind works and how he tells a story. He is a talented man and it shows in his work now alongside one of my favourite underrated artists in Piotr this was pretty much going to a no brainer choice. Now I don’t know who did the interiors for the opening with the credits but holy moley is that some nice stuff and it set the stage beautifully for the rest of the issue.
I like how this book is structured I like the flow of the story and how Ales manages to make this both its own entity and yet it still behaves like the game. There is this cleverness to the way this is told that I really like and am drawn to. It is also one you have to pay attention to because there are clues strewn throughout the issue about what’s really going on and most folks will not realise it until the last page and ya know what’s the best way to go.
For someone who doesn’t or has never played this game I thought this was a superb introduction and it’s easy to see why people like it. Killing the undead, werewolves and the all the supernatural like while being a hunter yeah the whole thing sounds cool and has a lot of untold promise. Stories set in this kind of universe have that propensity of blending horror and action in a way that people love. So the setting for this is solid and has all the intrigue one can handle because honestly I’m also one who is waiting to see what kind of big bad is at the helm here. That being in the dark isn’t a bad thing may surprise some folks, those who need instant gratification, it enhances the experience in my opinion.
Piotr is an amazing artist and I say that every time I see his work and I’m never wrong about that. The attention to detail here is phenomenal from the brick work in the buildings to the our hunter and his outfit to the dead and those like them are all so well conceived. The way page layouts are done so that we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off his eye for storytelling. That backgrounds are utilised as effectively as they are here expands the story in ways that really help us see this world. Oh and if all that weren’t enough those crystal blue eyes are a complete standout.
When the Hunter gets to the church and goes inside I wasn’t prepared for what he and by extension we’d find. I like the questions it raises at least in my own mind and the role they play in the story. There’s a way that game play is felt here that you can never pinpoint if what you are thinking is correct and that for me is fantastic plus the use of characterisation through dialogue shows us that not everything or everyone is trapped in a game style world so now one has to wonder what is really going on here.
Nothing goes or is as it seems and the constant twists and turns this story takes means the moment you think you have something figured out you immediately learn the errors of your way of thinking. From the subject matter to the way we see it and the story it’s all wrapped around this is a gem.