Mythos Comics 2020
Created by Bragi Schut & Lewis Fenton
Written by Chato Hill
Illustrated by John “Roc” Upchurch
Rats In The Maze
As Dobbs and Anna make their way through Mech City they begin to question whether they are any closer to freedom, or whether they are merely unwitting test subjects... rats in a maze...
This is one of those science fiction stories that has a heavy Twilight Zone slant to how we see it which coincidentally is why I like this as much as I do. There is actually a lot going on this issue that starts to make the entire story make more sense. I’m still not entirely sure how the world actually got to this place but it certainly has all the earmarks of A.I. Robots rising up and taking control of the planet and reducing the human population to more easily controllable numbers. Free association with what I see here means that I really am engaged and invested in the story. That’s the great thing about comics though is its ability to pull you and leave you with an experience that may or may not be shared in the exact same way as others perceive.
I am enjoying 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 presented very nicely. The character development keeps getting stronger and stronger with the way they face each new obstacle, situation and circumstance that is placed in their way. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists & turns along the way we’re given a look into this more complex storytelling that you originally suspect the book contains. With the way we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, change and evolve it manages to keep you at the edge of your seat wondering what could possibly come next. I am also enjoying how we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow.
Overall this is a very interesting tale that has layers to it that belies its premise or concept and it takes us on a thinking mans journey through the pages as we wonder what is real and what isn’t. It is almost as if Dobbs meeting Anna is a ploy of some kind to see just how much further he is willing to go when it isn’t simply his own life at stake.
The interiors here are pretty complex as well. The whole idea of a maze as we see it play out over the first few pages also become more complex as the pages turn. Again there’s something about seeing this from different perspectives that just expands the way the reader sees the story as well. The linework that we see with its varying weights being utilised to create the detail work is really well done. With the backgrounds being integral to parts of the story and how they are incorporated into the composition within the panels bring us this marvellous depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably solid eye for storytelling. The colour work is beautifully rendered as well. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a wonderful understanding of how colour works. Also to see the shadows cast by light sources, such as the pipes or catwalk they traverse upon, is exceptionally done.
Everything is what it appears to be and yet nothing is what it seems. It is this kind of contradiction that exemplifies what reading this story is like. It is also why reading this is as much fun as it is and why it’s one we cannot put down once it’s started.