IDW Publishing 2018
Written by Kurtis Wiebe
Illustrated by Max Dunbar
Coloured by Jose Luis Rio
Lettered by Gilberto Lazcano
The most iconic villain of the Gears of War universe takes the spotlight! Years before he became the bane of humanity on Emergence Day, RAAM rose through the ranks to take leadership of the Locust Horde armies thanks to his intelligence, strength, and ruthlessness. Now, witness that swift and brutal ascent in... The Rise of RAAM!
From someone who isn’t familiar with Gears of War, like myself, the good news is you don’t have to be to like this story. Kurtis does a fantastic job with the story here, now I don’t know what is in the game and what isn’t so I am coming from a newbie stance when I write this review. So in that regard let’s get to it. The way the story is structured is great it has this strong vibe and feel to it that is unmistakably masculine and warlike. So yeah it is strong and well done and the way Kurtis is able to make that bleed from the story is fantastic.
One this this first issue does besides introduce us to Raam and his people but this world and his place in it. I like the way we see intelligence and strategy and it is easy to see why he becomes the iconic villain he’s known as. The way the story weaves through the pages is fantastic and it has this great feeling about it and it is so easy to follow and understand what is happening. The characterisation that we are getting is superb and it really makes the characters feel real and authentic.
The opening is done in such a way that not only does it catch the eye but it also draws the reader in so that we immediately want to see more. We all know that the opening is the most important part of any book, more so when it comes to a first issue of a series and knowing that these folks nailed that and then some. It certainly got me who has never played or knows anything about the franchise into the book and wanting to see more. So it really is this story about and alien race and the hierarchy that lies within as one man puts a plan in motion to rise above them all.
I am in love with the interior artwork here. I mean page two alone gives me life as the use of perspective, the imagination and creativity that we and the use of colour to make this pop like jiffy pop! The attention to detail is stunning and the strength of the linework here is amazing and as such really makes you see what’s happening, who are the grunts and who the leaders are. Not to mention the other species, races or whatnot that are lurking around. The use of page layouts through the angles and perspective we see in the panels showcases such a strong eye for storytelling.
I think that IDW scored big with this one and whom they have working on it. This is an extremely strong first issue and I can see why it sold out at the distributor level. Get your while your shoppe or subscription service still has them! This is one of that transcends it’s source material nicely and becomes a solid comic book series on it’s own terms.
This is a great story, the ebb & flow to it is remarkable and video game or no this is one of those first issues that’s special.