Ahoy Comics 2020
Written by Stuart Moore
Pencilled by June Brigman
Inked by Roy Richardson
Coloured by Veronica Gandini
Lettered by Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt
When a deadly trap closes around the cats, they'll have to use all their feline instincts to survive. This is the big one-the issue that will change Captain Ginger and his starship crew forever! Plus the usual AHOY extra features, including prose stories and illustrations.
As if I hadn't thought this could get any better these folks said “hold my beer!” With the addition of the canines then the Lumen showing up last issue we knew that things were going to get a bit hairy but I had no idea it would go like this! As this series has progressed it has gone from a cute anthropomorphic story to a legit stellar science fiction tale. Part of the appeal here is that we know the cats were elevated by the creator though it would appear not all of the felines share this evolutionary advancement what with all the kittens running around. Let's face it cats are not known for their pack behaviour and yet in this environment they are not only forced to work with one another but go against their instincts. This makes for some absolutely mindbogglingly wonderful writing from Stuart.
I love 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 beautifully presented to the reader. When we see actions taken and the scope of what we think is going to happen there is this really weird, strong and admirable happenings going on. With June and the rest of the art team utilising faces and facial expressions, not to mention body language, simply reinforces the story immensely. The character development that we see is sensational. We've been getting to know these characters and to see how situations and circumstances change opinions of how we see them, simply stupendous writing. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way helps to create this really solid ebb & flow to the book.
I will say this while we have no idea who or what the Lumen are this ship makes me think they are fish. There is just something about it that reminds me of something in an aquarium that someone would own. Oh have I mentioned that this is as thoroughly engaging as they come? That my mind uses what we've seen to extrapolate data and come up with my own theories, however wildly wrong they may be, is a sign of great writing.
The interiors here really are marvellous to behold. The linework is so nice, clean and crisp and how the varying weights are utilised to bring out the attention to detail is just bloody marvellous. To take the time to ensure that these cats have their own unique coats, patterns and everything else must be painstaking but whether it is realised or not it's job well done indeed. The composition within the panels with how we see the backgrounds being utilised create this depth perception, sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the book. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this amazingly talented eye for storytelling. I am a big fan of the colour work we see here as well. I love how we see screens cat their glow on the fur and how the various hues and tones within the colours create that shading, highlights and shadow work. The colour selection that we see is gorgeous and unusual which is precisely how it should be.
This keeps growing and evolving while it garners more and more interest from the layering, the intrigue and the lively mix of personalities involved. I'll be a dog gone sumbitch but wow everything about this showcases why we love comics.