Zenescope Entertainment 2015
Written by Ralph Tedesco
Illustrated by Eric J
Coloured by Fran Gamboa & J.C. Ruiz
Lettered by Fabio Amelia
A nerdy outcast named Henry wants nothing more than to become someone else. And the serum he’s been perfecting may just be what he needs to accomplish his dream. But is Henry’s amazing invention actually the gateway to pure evil?
I have to say season two of this series is actually off to a really good start. Getting Eric J to do the interiors was a major coup, I’ve loved his work ever since seeing it on Rex Mundi. What he brings to the story makes it that much more powerful and impact and that’s a huge element in making this as creepy as it is. With the way Ralph told this story and Eric illustrated it it makes me want more from this team.
A modern day Jekyll and Hyde can be harder pull off than you think. So that Ralph tackled it and did it in this way was a pretty smart move. This is the kind of story that makes me wish these weren’t one shots and instead were two to three issue arcs. Then again the magic of comics is that you can go back revisit stories and flesh em out more later should the need/desire/ratings/sales all point in that direction. Also thank you for the fact that Red is interviewing Eddie and that’s really all we see of her I think the story definitely benefits by not having that silly back-up focusing on her and instead we got more pages devoted to the real story and that helped make this a stronger issue.
A high school setting where a kid is bullied and does his darndest to find a way to compensate and change his lot in life. Henry is brilliant young man who has had the crapshoot of a life so far. Father gone, mother well you’ll see her to understand, not physically impressive and the subject of the school bully yeah it’s got all the makings for a classic tale. I like the layering of the story here too as his best friend and unrequited, because he’s too timid, love Anne, who in return really is attracted to and likes him. Wrap that up in the split personality and body with family issues and it’s just that good. Sure he’s reckless but that lonely outcast kid feeling it’s more powerful than logic and more dangerous when you are this smart.
There’s another aspect of this story that I really like here as well. That’s the face we don’t see anyone get murdered or beaten up actually no real violence. It’s the old school Hitchcockian in me that loves it when the mind is made to imagine it happening based on what’s told within the story itself. The imagination in one’s mind is more powerful when left to take what’s given and expand upon it.
There’s also a massive plot twist within the story that I hadn’t seen coming.
The plot, pacing and reveal show a real maturity in Ralph’s writing and that he continued to keep the reader involved, thinking constantly about what is seen, and then bringing in the whammy like he did was superbly done. If the rest of this run is going to be of this caliber writing and interior artwork then i’m going to be a happy camper. This is the kind of storytelling Zenescope needs to present to the world.