Alterna Comics 2018
Created & Written by Garrett Gunn
Illustrated by Saint Yak
Cover Colours by Sean Forney
Lettered by HdE
Slade's journey of revenge leads him to "Lost Vegas" where he hopes to enlist the help of the deadliest woman in the Western Territories.
In today’s world there are more comic companies than you can shake a stick at. However there are those that stand out for a myriad of reasons and we all know storytelling is the biggest one of all. While the bigger companies keep using gimmicks to fix what is broken very quietly you’ve creators at places like Alterna that are making very good, solid and affordable comics by going old school. Newsprint comics are back and honestly what I wouldn’t give to be able to hold these in my hands and see them in person instead of reading them on a computer screen. How this look visually here is amazing and that has to be ramped 1000% when seen on the paper.
Garrett has created one hell of a story here. There aren’t a whole of Westerns any longer so that this has the kind of action even a normal Western doesn’t see is so much fun to see. Now honestly I would love to see what and Saint could do with a revival of The Wild Wild West in comics form. That he is going to be able to tell this arc in three issues is fantastic, he isn’t dragging it out for the sake of whatever he’s got his amazing pacing going on here so the feel of the flow and how the book is structured is pretty damn spectacular.
There is something so simplistic about the idea of revenge most everyone has thought about at one point in time in their life. If they say they haven’t I wouldn’t trust them. It is human nature to want revenge of some sort but it is how we get it that sets us apart. Some will strive to do their best to show the ones who wronged them he’s better than they are while others will go after them directly, or indirectly depending on how they want to mess someone up. Back in the old west revenge was something certain people specialised in and this is a tale of revenge pure and simple. It also happens to be about friendship and what that means to these folks.
Saint Yak is one of the greatest unknowns you’ll ever find. I mean the attention to detail here is just mindbogglingly good I got seriously gob-smacked a few times and that look of Creed standing with his back to us the only thing I would’ve wished was seeing a fuzzy butt. The linework here is so extraordinary and the varying weights and how we see them all used adds this dimension and depth that you just don’t see. Then the peeks of colour here and there beautifully done. The scars and how we see them are superb moments in themselves. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels showcases this young man’s incredible eye for storytelling. As a self proclaimed art snob this is the crème de la crème of interior artwork. Again I need to see this in newsprint!
I can’t stress enough how good the quality of what we see in these pages is. I mean the storytelling alone would be cause to read this. It has the perfect pacing, the dialogue and characterisation is to notch and it’s surrounded by some of the absolute best interiors available today. I cannot think of one solid reason why you aren’t reading this or shouldn’t make sure your shoppe is carrying it.