AWA Upshot Studios 2020
Written by Jeff McComsey
Illustrated by Tommy Lee Edwards
Lettered by John Workman
For two generations, the rural hill town of Grendel, Kentucky has honored its Faustian bargain with the monster living in its abandoned coal mine: a human sacrifice every season in return for agrarian prosperity the likes of which this rocky region had never before seen (including its greatest cash crop: the dankest weed in the land). When one town elder breaks this pact, Grendel's only hope is that its prodigal daughter will return home to face down the creature of her nightmares—and bring her all-female biker gang with her.
Second verse, same as the first, no not really though why that popped into my head is beyond me. Maybe it has something to do with the subtext of Beowulf being told while we’re seeing it represented in a small close-knit family of career criminals, who knows but it felt right. I went with this because I wanted you to understand something, when a story affects you in any way shape or form you should go with that. See where it takes you and go on that unexpected journey to see what happens.
I am loving every moment and way that this story is being told. How we see the story & plot development through watching how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is extremely well rendered and continually moves us forward. The character development that we see is utterly sensational as we get to see their personalities emerge more and more with each panel they are in. How we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances as well as the dialogue between them is what keeps these characters interesting. The pacing we see in these pages is superbly done. How we see the story structured and the layers within the story itself alongside the way we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow is really amazing.
There are so many wonderful moving parts of this story and they come about so organically that you don’t think twice about them. This almost gives us this whole misdirection that takes place because you are not looking at the right hand and the left is off doing it’s own thing. Your attention is split and you just go with it and that’s when you become almost blindsided by what is happening. Jeff is writing one heck a killer story here and I am enjoying every single moment of it.
The interiors here are utterly fabulous to see. The linework we see here is incredible and how the varying weights and techniques are being utilised really shine a spotlight on the detail work that we see. There is a blend of stylised and tight detail work and seeing the two in one panel is almost as cinematic as you can possibly get. With how backgrounds are being utilised we get such an experience throughout and not only does it enhance the moments beautifully but it also provides us with this great depth perception, sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show us this marvellous eye for storytelling. The colour work here is beautifully rendered as well. I love seeing the various hues and tones within the colours and how they create the shading, highlights and shadow work that we see. There is so much gorgeous scenery that brings vivid memories to the reader and it just captivates you.
This is an amazing story and that it is one story on top of another, so if you are aware of it you see the parallels but if you don’t know that story that’s okay too because it’s a stunning story in and of itself. The quality of work or craftsmanship that we see here is extraordinary and it is books like this that have put AWA Studios firmly into today's market as must have read.