Archie Comics 2019
Written by Ian Flynn
Illustrated by Evan Stanley & Tracy Yardley
Coloured by Matt Herms
Lettered by Jack Morelli
Cosmo and crew have successfully rescued their teammate Orbi from the hands of the elite Venusian warrior, Battle Princess Shih! They also procured an ancient Martian Relic right out of Shih's hands... however, they didn't walk away unscathed. Before retreating, Shih shattered Max's space helmet, leaving the human hero in mortal danger! Luckily, Cosmo's eccentric science whizz crew-mate Medulla took immediate action and bonded the Martian Relic to Max's suit, stabilizing him for the time being...
I love my all-ages books, I've come to respect the talent, skill and sheer delightfulness that they possess. Also while I have love for so many companies that produce them and produce them extremely well no one and I do mean NO ONE does it like Archie. This series in particular is extraordinary example of just how much fun a comic can be. Yes there is some seriousness going on here and okay between Cosmo and Max we've got a bit of Star Lord going on but that's okay it's what is hip and now. It does change the fact that this really is an incredibly well written book with layers and sub-plots and all that comes with all the elements we love.
The way that this is being told is sensational. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold to how the reader learns information it's done beautifully. We open with the Queen as they have explain what's been happening as another sub-plot becomes revealed. Seriously I love the way that we are continually drawn further and further into this story with each turn of the page. The character development has absolutely stellar here as well. The kids will see things one way and adults will see more into the subtle nuances that surround the characters and all in all it is fun to watch them grow and evolve as people. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the little twist5s and turns along the way it works with everything else to create the books ebb & flow. Seriously during all this madness we're going through it's books like this that you can get digitally or order through the Archie store and just forget that the world is crazy and read something fun, light hearted and adventurous.
I am in love with the interiors here. Yes this is all ages work and can be on the more simple side of things however, the imagination and creativity we see throughout this series is like a dream come true. There is some great variations in the linework utilised to bring out the attention to detail and in some cases a little familiar gag or two along the way which of course is sure to bring a smile to your face. Bonus points for the romanticised way that Hesper sees Cosmo as well. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show some marvellous eyes or storytelling. Honestly I am extremely impressed with the way we see backgrounds here and how they bring us depth perception a sense of scale and the overall size and scope of the story. I have one thing to say, those rocket ship boxers are super duper cute! The colour work we see here is really rather beautifully rendered. Along with the way we see familiar buildings and such we also get this extremely nice hues and shades utilised in some most unusual ways. The colour blocking is superb and Matt really understands how to colour and how utilise his shades and hues in the best ways possible.
This truly is one of those books that can make a rainy day a sunshine day (I think I'll go for a walk outside now the summer suns calling my name) or a day in quarantine a heck of a lot more bearable. So if this isn't or hasn't been on your radar it darn well should be!