Dark Horse Comics 2021
Written by Bryan Edward Hill
Illustrated by Geraldo Borges
Coloured by Michael Atiyeh
Lettered by Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
The appropriate response to pain is not to escape it, but to embrace and conquer it. The infamous preacher, Joseph Seed, illustrates this lesson in two ways: showing success with strength over pain, but also, caution, when one isn't strong enough.
I am sorry but if my father treated me the way we see happening within this opening I’d have called child and family services faster than you could blink. Of course different parts of the world and those who are in much different walks of life do things much differently than my comfortable suburban upper middle class upbringing. Of course what we do see here does make for some incredible reading and Bryan does know what he’s doing. The man does look like Lance Henrickson, it’s kind of uncanny really. Then of course there’s the whole Seed segment of the story and I dunno what voices these folks are hearing but it’s more than a tad creepy if ya ask me, not that anyone has. Regardless, what all this does is engage the reader in the story in some really nice ways.
I am impressed with 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 exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter all of which conspire to bring these characters to life beautifully. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story the more intrigued we become.
How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen is really magnificently well rendered. Within the layers we see a lot of the stellar characterisation, the plot twists and oh so much more and what these bring are extra depth, dimension and complexity to the story. I like that some of these moments are creepy as all get out and explain why we see some of what we do and the implications are enormous. The way we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably rendered.
The interiors here are really rather strong. The linework that we see along with the varying weights techniques showcase so much great detail work throughout the book. How we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance and expand the moments as well as how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the book is wonderfully achieved. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show an extraordinary eye for how colour works and how to maximise its effects.
I know this is another book based off of a video game but honestly as a non-gamer this is a phenomenal stand alone project. So whether you play the game or not this is going to capture your mind, imagination and creativity and make you feel you are a huge part of the franchise. There is some absolutely stellar writing and characterisation wrapped in these sensational interiors that will engage your mind beautifully. This is what the power of comics is all about.