Scout Comics 2016
Created & Written by A.C. Medina
Illustrated by Kevin Shah
Coloured by Ross A. Campbell
Lettered by Micah Myers
The finale to the year’s most interesting limited series is here. We’ve seen how the Elasticator came into police headquarters and started telling the tale of how he gained his powers and got caught up in the power struggle that’s turned Brooklyn into a war zone. Now we see how they got to that point and the actions that led him being led into that interrogation room.
The entire series has led to this issue. I’ve been pretty impressed with everything these guys have done here it’s been a well structured look at what it means to have powers. Nothing is cut and dry or black and white and living in a world where there’s this much strife and a neighborhood where thugs rule the streets what’s a kid with powers supposed to do when he’s brought up in that life? Just because you want to be a hero doesn’t mean there are any set rules that are realistic to follow, like when someone is trying to kill you you don’t fight back so they die. In this realm that’s as unrealistic as can be and it’s been portrayed extremely well.
Well what A.C. does here is pretty impressive for multiple reasons, among them is sneaking in an unexpected origin for our main bad guy. Who saw that one coming? Not sure that I did and I have to say it’s got a lot of promise should these guys decide to revisit or do a continuation series. Also that the substance that bonded with Mikey having unexpected side effects well that’s another interesting point as is the revelation of his being tested and what those tests revealed. For what exactly that is you’ll have to read the story.
Kevin and Ross do a really great job on the interiors here. There’s so much action and fighting that is going on that they’ve got their hands full with all the battle scenes. I like the way they have a fluidity to them and a sense of movement. The use of page layouts through angles and perspective are extremely well done. It wasn’t until the end though that I felt the work felt like the rest of the series and it filled me with hope for Brooklyn moving forward.
The end here is one that is nicely open ended. What actually does happen to Mikey? It’s not clearly defined but his actions and the freedom of the area are clearly on display. Does this mean that Mikey is still out there, gone to school and is enacting change without using these fantastic new powers? Smells like a sequel could be in order because while the end has its suggestions it is far from definitive.
This has proven my point beyond a shadow of a doubt that small press companies are more than capable of delivering stories that rival anything the “major” ones do. This has been exceptionally well written with interesting characters wonderful characterisation and strong solid interior artwork. This will excite, thrill and take you on a journey of a kid who gains powers and portrays his story with a blunt honesty!