Titan Comics 2016
Written by Gordon Rennie
Illustrated by Andrea Olimpieri
Coloured by Marcelo Maiolo
Lettered by Rob Steen
Narrowly avoiding defeat at the hands of the enigmatic Broken Tom, Corvo finds himself dragged from the Wrenhaven River by the very person he was searching for - the young son of his long-lost sister...Meanwhile, as his new protégé, Martha Cottings, begins to question her very beliefs, her investigations into the city’s contraband weaponry shipments lead her into the dank shadows of Coldridge Prison, where a certain inmate may offer answers to Dunwall’s latest mystery.
Oh I like the way that this story is coming together. That we’re seeing both Martha and Corvo separately following their leads and both having strange encounters which only serve to reinforce both are on a path where they require the other’s assistance. Add to this the whole idea behind this world where magic is something to be shunned, disbelieved and used only by those who skirt the law mix that with forms of steampunk and you’ve got this whole new exciting setting that draws the reader’s imagination into the story beautifully.
I’m really impressed with Andrea’s interior artwork. There’s something about how he’s able to use focus in his work to make the main character standout in the scene where your eye is focusing while the rest is faded out, Marcelo’s colouring really helps with that effect. The flow of the story through page layouts with the use of angles, perspective and backgrounds control the way the story moves nicely. I like the creativity and imagination on display here as well and the painting aspect shows this off nicely.
The characterisation here great and the way the story progresses isn’t what you’d expect and that’s half the fun of reading this. We’ve seen Corvo’s reason for coming to the city and his ongoing hunt for his sister and that the boy seems to be a dead on Beatrice, his sister, that he’s become obsessed with finding. Martha’s a bit more of a mystery but I do like the reveals we get here as more of her story is revealed.
In the opening we see Corvo looking for someone to train and it appears in Martha’s he’s got a good pupil but they haven’t exactly worked together yet. He knows little of her background and we are only starting to learn more. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when the two meet up and discuss what they’ve learned thus far. Considering the lead that she’s been following and what Corvo himself is currently experiencing. Plus her own detective skills as we see them on display are rather sharp. I liked that scene with the gentlemen following her that was well played out.
Corvo’s obsession on his own time away from working for the crown is going to be his downfall. He’s made enemies in his time in the city and that’s obvious by what he’s currently going through and the reveals in this story. His single minded nature in finding his sister leaves him vulnerable to being manipulated and deceived. It’s a dangerous game he’s playing and he isn’t thinking things through so i’m looking forward to Martha being able to both help him see the truth and fulfill the role he has in mind for her.
This is a unique and thrilling adventure series so far that has all the drama and intrigue in this marvelous setting to keep us riveted to the page and well entertained.