Kevin Eastman Studios 2019
Created by Kevin Eastman & David Avallone
Written by David Avallone
Illustrated by Ben Bishop
Coloured by Brittany Peer
Lettered by Taylor Esposito
A funeral, an angry widow, a talking statue, a crazed mob, a silent-movie nightmare and a real-life faceoff with murderous Lithuanian gangsters... it's just another tricky day for Shane "Books" Bookman, a comic book creator who rode the roller coaster of fame and fortune and ended up...in a whole lotta trouble. Will he live to see the next issue?
This has been one of those books that is a revelation to me. Kevin starting his own imprint and getting together with David to do this book which is a kind of tongue in cheek ode to the industry. I am thoroughly enjoying the way this is being told and how the ramifications of what Books did have come back to haunt him is something that more folks need to see. Life lessons can be hard to learn or just something you have to roll with, Books however has to actually hit rock bottom and that's coming up at him faster than he realises.
I like the way that this is being told. David has this great sense of how to structure a book and in what direction the story needs to travel. There is this ebb & flow created by the story & plot development and the character development that is carried along by the pacing so that we constantly move forward. This is so well done you don't tend to notice how well it's done you just read the issue and suddenly you are at the end and left with wanting more. While this is very much an Atypical slice of life story for Book's he really needs to find a way to accept himself and his actions so that he can actually forward with his own life. He's not going to find it in the pill bottle or the alcohol but he has to come that realisation on his own.
The fact that we see Book's going through all this and then as a reader we go off script and think about our own lives and how we can relate to him or empathise with him says that David has done his job and then some. He is writing an incredibly solid book and one that even with it's outside the box premise is still something that readers' can relate to. Not only that but it's something we want to keep reading, we are invested, engaged in the story and feel as if Book's is actually a friend of ours.
The interiors here are spectacular! I am in love with the linework that we see here as Ben manipulates the varying weights and creates this stunning attention to detail. We see such a strong sure hand I play here and as such it really makes a difference in what we see as the work provides that extra characterisation that words alone cannot give us. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a stupendous eye for storytelling. The way we see the difference in the past and the present is spectacular. The way that we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance moments and bring a sense of size and scope to the story is wonderfully done. The colour work here is phenomenal as well. The way that light sources are utilised to create shading and shadows with their various hues and tones is expertly done.
The way we see events unfold and how Book's and company deal with what is thrown at them is extremely well done and it makes for some intense moments. This man is one that I have no qualms in wanting to follow and see what he's going to get into next. He is flawed and that's clearly evident and it's his flaws that make hi so relateable to. David is a sensational writer and he's someone that you really need to be paying attention to as he has the ability to write, create and engage readers' in some truly special ways.