Clover Press 2021
Created & Written by Charles Holland
Illustrated by Antonio Fuso
Coloured by Stefano Simeone
Lettered by Robbie Robbins
The investigation into the death of the world's most powerful superhero begins. Led by the US Deputy Attorney General, agendas conflict as the FBI and the attorney who knew the deceased the best, all jockey to learn what happened.
I’m really getting into this book. The writing is really exceptional and as we see more and more we learn about these characters the stronger and more intense the story becomes. There are subtle moments as well as in your face ones, we see machinations and underhandedness happening and it all ties together to create this mysterious feeling about what is going on. Many of these moments stick with you as well and others well they make you think and being engaged in the story and going off page or script is really indicative of a great skilled writer and that we’re only two issues in. It is amazing to see this happening already. We haven’t seen a story quite like this and I like that it feels like a trailblazer in many ways and while it has that feel of the Boys in some regards this is really something unlike anything else that we’re seeing on stands.
I’m absolutely loving 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 immaculately handled. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does this amazing job in bringing us their personalities to the forefront. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more we want to see.
I’m really impressed with the way that we see this being structured and how the layers continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I am also liking the way that we see the layers within the story opening up new avenues to be explored and whether or not they get explored they all add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. Frank himself is a man you love to hate and what he brings to this is some really strong emotions from the reader and it's something you have to experience to understand the impact the character has. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how we see it move the story forward are immaculately handled.
Antonio is one of the best underrated artists working today. His linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality in the attention to detail is stupendous. How we see backgrounds being used really does enhance and expand the moments beautifully and how they work within the composition of the panels brings out the depth, dimension and complexity to the story is magnificent. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work really shows this fabulous understanding of how colour works and how to maximise their effects.
This book is amazing and it is one that you cannot skim through. You have to sit down and read it because you’ll miss something important unless you do. I love an intellectual comic and how it really engages the reader and makes you become more invested with each turn of the page. This is so intelligently written with some absolutely spectacular characterisation and these mindbogglingly brilliant interiors really turns this into an event to experience.