Kevin Eastman Studios Inc. 2019
Written by David Avallone
Illustrated by Ben Bishop
Coloured by Brittany Peer
Lettered by Taylor Esposito
Flashbacks-Layout by Ben Bishop, Finals-Kevin Eastman
Hallucination-Layout by Ben Bishop-Finals by Troy Little
The saga of Shane “Books” Bookman continues: the one-time mega-successful comic book creator fallen on hard times finds those times getting even harder. With his back to the wall, Books fends off mobsters, stars in a documentary, falls in love, sells his soul… and it’s only the second issue!
The Lithuanian’s met up with Shane last issue and we pick up right where the first issue left off. It is kind of weird to me that Shane is now responsible for a debt someone else made but I guess when you are dealing with these types of men their reasoning doesn’t matter so long as they get what they want. It also adds another dimension to the storytelling and who doesn’t like that? David manages to add layers to the story in some unusual and innovative ways and it’s among those reasons why I enjoy reading his work.
Aside from all the money issues and being chased by modern day mobsters we get to meet more of the people in Shane’s life. While the audition scene gives me memories of the past it also has some great moments as well for seeing them in the now. Also the characterisation is flawlessly executed as we really do get to know these characters. It is surprising, but it shouldn’t be, how fast David manages to flesh out these characters so have favourites and those we hope end up on the hit list of someone. Heck he even manages to get me liking this Lithuanian and that shouldn’t be so easy to do.
The way this is structured is extremely well done. We get this great story & plot development that with it’s pacing create this wonderful ebb & flow. The action and the story itself are well balanced throughout so that we always seem to be experiencing something new. From the concept of the book which is something I would never have thought of through the execution we see in these pages this is a fine example of what happens when creators get to do their thing in the way that they want to.
The interiors here are fantastic. Ben’s linework is really something and I love the way the varying weights are utilised to create this attention to detail. Faces and facial expressions are paramount to understanding feelings and emotions and they also show us a level of talent and skill that’s pretty impressive. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a strong, talented eye for storytelling. I am thrilled by how we see backgrounds utilised throughout the book as they do wonders in expanding the moment and bringing a size and scope to the book. The colour work here really nice as well. We get to see some sensational effects when it comes to his hallucinations for example.
With new opportunities arising every day it’s nice to see that creators are getting a chance to shine in new venues. This feels it could be autobiographical with some exaggerations thrown into the mix, after all fiction works best when it’s rooted in reality and like any good southern woman will tell you embellishment is a way of life. I like this as it checks off a number of boxes in my must have list, like writing that has a lot of twists, turns and way too many interesting moments to count and well the interiors here are fantastic. This is why I do what I do, finding books that people can resonate with and yet don’t know it’s out there.