
Source Point Press 2020
Written by Tony Doug Wright
Illustrated by Joseph Haemmerle
Lettered by Magnus
A bounty hunter from the underworld, a demonic goddess, a cursed mythical kingdom rising from the depths of below, and a mouthy twelve-year-old are no match for Danger Devil and her sidekick Kid Diabla. These masked agents from the Mystic Bureau are dedicated to protecting the world from all supernatural threats, especially the Order of Methalia, an ancient society hellbent on returning the wicked one to her throne as the ruler of the ancient civilization of Tragg Magnar.
Source Point Press keeps growing and evolving while never forgetting their roots. This is an example of that. I like the idea and Tony’s writing is pretty solid though it does need some fine tuning and well Joseph needs more practise because I am not terribly impressed with his work. Regardless this is what makes comics great! I am not sure these guys would get the chance to stretch their wings, grow their talents and fine tune what makes them, them. This is far from a throw away and it is a great opportunity to see the creators grow from this point forward. Sometimes all it takes is a little break so that confidence grows and we see them flourish.
The way this is being told is really rather well done. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold a well as how the reader learns information is laid fairly well. The opening does what it’s supposed to do, it catches your attention and makes you wonder what the heck is going on. Almost like we came in mid episode and we don’t have a start over option. So yeah it makes the reader want to know what is going on, so much so they stay for the entire issue. The character development is a little wonky for me. We see some strong personalities to life here and it is going to be interesting to see how they develop as the story continues. Though for the love of god stop those two kids with the lab from speaking any further. I am not sure who they are supposed to represent but that’s the most annoying inflection since the valley girl phase. Stop that immediately! The pacing is good and that we see this happen in real time, not once in the issue do we jump anywhere else we stay in this scene till it plays out.
How this is structured and how everything here is utilised to create the books ebb & flow is nicely done. We have to wait some time for the reveal of who the girl is and why she’s there so think of that as you write more, length until a reveal shouldn’t take too long.
The interiors here, sigh. While I do like the linework we see and how the varying weights are utilised, I would love to see more variation in techniques utilised. Don’t be afraid to use crosshatching for instance, there are 5 different techniques so do not be afraid to utilise them because the base laid is good but relying on one thing doesn’t bring it life to its fullest. Anatomy will tighten up with regular work and pay attention to hands and fingers. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a solid eye for storytelling. The colour work is interesting as well. The bold bright colours of the heroes versus the darker tones in the villains lets us know who’s who. I would like to see more shading and gradation but I do like the green and the effect it has around her.
This is one where you get it because it’s worth getting, the creators have talent and we see this and we want to see their talent flourish. The potential I see here is unlimited and if they continue on this trajectory then sky’s the limit right. Give it a go, I think you’ll be more than pleasantly surprised.