Dark Horse Comics 2017
By Carlos & Miguel Valderrama
The underground city is shaken by a rumble! Fighting for the scarce territory in the subterranean districts, the teen gangs Bloodwolves and Grim Bastards collide in dangerously escalating violent encounters—relying more and more to the destructive ambernoir—a rare but potent fuel. But the ambernoir is obtained near the deadly frozen surface, a place humans have avoided for generations—ever since the cataclysm that brought the cold….and something worse: the ferocious Giants!
I’m in for this one folks it has a good solid premise and a base starting point to tell a magnificent tale. I like that we don’t start with the rise of the Giants, how they got here and the effect on Earth’s surface. It isn’t necessary to go into the details just state what is and leave it at that, not that it’ll happen but they could always revisit that in a different book if they desired but I feel that’s unlikely. I’m good with what we see and how we see it. The opening here is perfectly done and I love the winter setting visually as well as our first look at the giants, which scream Kaiju and to be honest I couldn’t be happier about that.
Our first introduction to the underground world of humans isn’t a pretty one. Though it is very telling as it seems that being forced underground has brought out some of our worst traits. I like that we see this and it’s kind of overt, by only seeing the teenage gangs however aren’t yet privy to seeing how the adults and leaders behave and react to all this turf war fighting. Though to be perfectly honest you can tell more about a society through it’s children’s behaviour than that of adults and with that thinking this was done beautifully.
The introduction of Gogi and Zero is done extremely well. Personally it has this whole Oliver Twist feel like they are the Artful Dodger and Oliver on a grand adventure. So yeah it’s a very solid and strong introduction to them. As we follow their actions we see that they are chosen to retrieve more of the ambernoir and thus their adventure truly begins. I like this it has all the hallmarks of the kind of adventure that Frodo and Samwise took in Lord of the Rings but the guys make it feel unique and original even with those shades of familiarity. It’s a very well constructed story and the ebb & flow of the development interspersed with the characterisation is one of their hallmark signatures.
The interiors here are wonderfully done and while they evoke feelings of manga it’s perfectly suited to the story at hand. I like the attention to detail that we see and the linework has this gorgeous quality to it that I can’t escape. The utilisation of page layouts through their angles, perspective showcase such an eye for storytelling. The imagination and creativity on display here is sublime and that it can make you feel the excitement that the boys do just adds another layer to it.
People can read this and take from it what they will but for me aside from the fact that the world as we know it no longer exists and the boys they are about to experience something beyond anything they could have dreamed. They’ve entered the world of the Giants and it’s going to change their lives forever. Two boys wanting adventure and with some skills seeking acceptance from the older kids doing things that only the young would do that’s what I’m seeing here. That desire for acceptance is one that we all know and when your their age well you feel like you are indestructible and can rule the world.
Fun, entertaining and with the feel of a classic in the making the Valderrama brothers have their first American hit.