Dynamite Entertainment 2019
Written by Leah Williams
Illustrated by Daniel Maine
Coloured by Bryan Valenza
Lettered by Carlos M. Mangual
Chastity finds herself part of a group of kidnapped women. But why were they taken, and who’s behind this? Escaping imprisonment is one thing—escaping where that prison is, is another! Then again, kidnapping normal women is one thing—kidnapping a half-vampire is another!
I am thoroughly enjoying the story that Leah is bringing us here. She has found a way to take who Chastity is at her core and bring that out through this story so far and she's done it without being overly obvious about it. Having Chastity be captured last issue only to find herself in the midst of the very thing she was setting out to stop really is something I loved seeing. The opening here is amazing and the introduction of the women we meet alongside her is so well orchestrated. It is this kin of writing that makes the characters come to life in some wondrous and unexpected ways.
The story & plot development that we see and how we get the release of information alongside Chastity makes us feel more a part of the story than knowing everything before hand. I prefer this style of storytelling and when it's this well I love it even more. The character development is utterly amazing as the women that we meet are all being fleshed out alongside Chastity and it's nice to see that even though they are victims they aren't going to play the victim and that they have the will to fight back. This is the kind of characterisation that makes us want to see more of them. Then there is the pacing, the final piece of the storytelling puzzle and it adds the twists and turns that we see as well as the revelations that much more interesting and sometimes shocking. This makes the ebb & flow of what we see so nicely done it's like being on a cruise and not realising your moving.
I am really impressed with the overall way that this story is laid out. We get into this pretty right away there's no lag in what is happening and it has this kind of NCIS + horror vibe to it that makes it stand out in the crowd. It I is also the perfect scenario for Chastity and her anger issues so that she can feel free to unless that in such a way that it's satisfying to her and to us.
The interiors here are so interesting to me and it feels like a mixture of traditional and computer generated art. The only thing I wish were done differently is the mesh in her outfit, it's way too static and remains the same constantly. It should scrunch up and follow the curvature of her body but it doesn't and that's all I can find about this that catches my eye in a bad way. Otherwise the faces and facial expressions not to mention the body language really add another layer of characterisation to these characters. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a really strong eye for storytelling. Let me also say that that two-page spread that in here is utterly phenomenal all the way around. The colour work is that we see here is beautifully done and I like how we see light sources being utilised to create the shading and shadows. Plus we get to see the base colour being chosen and the various hues and tones within to really get the full impact.
There is something both utterly disturbing and inherently interesting at the same time. It is a real shame that human trafficking is still big business in this day and age but the situation that Chastity is in lends itself to one of those big budget action films. With the way the word and visuals work together so seamlessly and with the lettering so on point and the use of font for emphasis is well done there is absolutely nothing about this book that isn't high quality. Dynamite really has some of the most gripping books out today.