Zenescope Entertainment 2017
Written by Anne Toole
Pencilled by Enn
Inked by Emanuel Braga
Coloured by Hedwin Zaldivar & Ceci De La Cruz
Lettered by Kurt Hathaway
The Shadowlands are a dark and mysterious place, filled with the most evil creatures that have ever haunted mankind’s imagination. Now Mary Medina finds herself trapped there with no means of an escape, lured by a powerful enemy into a deadly dance with the dead.
Despite myself I am actually really enjoying this story so far. The pacing feels a little wonky to me but somehow Anne makes it work to her advantage and I appreciate that. The story premise itself doesn’t automatically feel right to me but it is what it is and we saw how at the end of last issue how Mary’s powers don’t work quite the same in this realm and that piques the curiosity factor. With our de-powered Djinn things are little different, more ambiguous and that plays into things nicely as well. Anne’s characterisation here is pretty spectacular and that she “gets” both these women is something that can’t underestimated.
Also that Anne manages to weave in some twists and turns to the story continues to highlight her talent. Once our pair of heroines have a moment to talk and with trust at a minimum we start to learn a little backstory. It’s essential to our enjoyment and understanding of why this happening to someone. While Mary’s reason for being here remains more ambiguous that doesn’t stop Anne from bringing us reasons these two need each other. The dynamic between the two is fabulous to see as they continue to feel each other out and are forced to rely upon one another if they are not only going to survive their time here but get out as well.
The interiors here are nice, solid work. It has a very classic comic book feel to it which works well not only in this realm but with these characters. Jasmine however for whatever reason feels like she’s channelling a version of Zatanna’s early days from that high ponytail to the cape and that tight almost body suit and it was all I could see. The use of page layouts here from Enn showcase a very good eye for storytelling with his use of angles, perspective and yes backgrounds. While they aren’t in every panel they are in plenty to give us the right mood, tone and feel of what’s all around them bringing this aching darkness that’s pretty palpable. There’s also a great imagination and creativity used in bringing the Gremlin’s to life, I mean they are lizard gremlins and they are both cute and deadly, not to mention what we see in the backstory.
I love Mary from her powers, to her personality and that whole little girl lost quality she perpetuates. It is very hard to dislike her or root against here and I think that’s how it should be because she has so much potential and she has yet to discover that. Anne’s characterisation is such that Mary is learning but she isn’t learning a lot too soon. This allows each arc she’s in that opportunity to make her a little stronger and less afraid which is extremely well done and I love seeing that here. I’m impressed at the level of character development here and in Jasmine as well and this makes me think that if they can get through this and learn to trust each other maybe that extends others she meets.
The ending here took me by surprise and I adore that! To keep the reader on their toes is a great thing to be able to do. Really strong way to close this out and to open up next issue. It’s gems like this one are why we read Zenescope.