Zenescope Entertainment 2017
Written by Anne Toole
Illustrated by ENN & Ario Murti
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.
I’m a huge fan of Mary’s so seeing another arc that showcases her and her talents is more than okay in my book. This time around however she finds herself in a strange place and she’s not alone there’s someone else trapped here as well. If the two women are to get out of this place alive they are going to have to learn to be friendly and work side by side and with everything Mary has gone through lately making friends isn’t high on priority list.
From the get go isn’t clear how each of them ended up here and we aren’t even sure who the first woman even is. We do know Mary though and seeing her having to face off against Werewolves and killer trees while she narrates what’s been going on until she got here well that is some nice characterisation. Through that narration we get to see how Mary longs for her friends and for some place to call home but she’s afraid of what will happen to that if she had it. Running away seems like the only thing she can do and it tugs at the heartstrings to see her in this state.
When we finally see the man behind the madness things start to come into focus. Anne does this in a non-traditional manner and it works for her here. The flow of what we see makes the reader sit up and wonder what’s going on who’s that first woman and then keeps our attention and having us want more. The hook is great and the way it all kind of flows together is nicely done. His backstory comes with his introduction as well as the identity of the first woman and what she represents here. Okay so then you have to wonder how does Mary fit into his plans?
The interiors here border on animated but it’s okay because that kind of fits here. I wish there was a little more attention to detail to keep rooted more in modern comics but that’s part of what I like to see. The way that Page layouts are utilised through the angles and perspective is nicely done and there is a solid eye for storytelling here. In this crazy world where imagination and creativity make up the bulk of what we see using backgrounds is essential and that they seen makes me a happy camper.
I’ve hit upon the characterisation and structure of the book but by the time we get to the end all that is somewhat amplified. As we see Jasmine encounter a woman, who looks like a young girl, and learns that not all is as it seems and they need to find shelter. This is when we learn a little more about her character, the type of person she is. This town that will soon come under siege from Gremian’s and points to you if you recognise where that comes from is also where the two women will meet and under rather shall we say in less than auspicious circumstances.
From start to finish this a great solid read. I love that there is an intrigue factor and that Mary is unwitting pawn in someone else’s game and she has no idea of that yet. Also the introduction of Jasmine has some great potential behind it. Zenescope has another solid book on stands right now worthy of your look-see.