Skybound/Image Comics 2019
Created & Written by Shawn Kittelsen
Created & Illustrated by Eric Zawadzki
Coloured by Michael Garland
Lettered by Pat Brosseau
Ever since Variants were “birthed,” the country has feared the emergence of Powers of Mass Destruction. Now their fears become reality as Jill and Charlie manifest abilities beyond their wildest dreams—and the Variant Crimes Unit is their first target.
I do believe that the boys just blew my mind! I mean hit me out of left field with this one and keep my feeling curiouser curiouser cried Alice. I'm certainly not going to tell them to hit me with your best shot, fire away because dayum sons. I know I am feeling all cliché but somehow that's me getting my bearings and thoughts straight after reading this as I am still reeling. Last issue set us up for this but there was no way on god's green earth I could have thought it was this. Either Charlie is the best actor in the entire world or he's completely out of his depth and doesn't how he got himself into this nor how to get himself out of it. It will be interesting to see what choices he makes next.
I am enjoying the way that this is being told immensely! The story & plot development we see through the sequence of events that unfold as well as how the reader learns information is laid down perfectly. The way we see the interaction between Charlie and Jill goes a long way in both story and character development. Speaking of the character development here is off the charts and while we get to know these two a lot better it's really the defensive nature they both display that pulls you in the intrigue factor range. The pacing is excellent and the way that it takes us through the pages and how it brings us these twists and turns help to create this really interesting ebb & flow to the book. The entire book with it's overall structure is so well done and how it is being told through the interactions and through the one-on-one time is so deftly applied.
I liked the first issue, it was good, interesting and set up a promising premise but it is this issue that cements it in the must read pile. This is where the set up pays off and the really good meat of the story starts to take shape. While I am somewhat surprised to see things move so quickly unless of course this is a four issue series.
I really like the interiors here. There is this mix of old indie/underground style going on with this modern sensibility that really makes an impact. The linework is sensational and to see the different techniques utilised to bring about this attention to detail that we see is phenomenal. That dress she's wearing for instance is awesome and the fact that Eric has to play fashion designer is lovely. I am a huge fan of the way that we see backgrounds utilised here as they enhance the moments beautifully and bring us this sense of size and scope to the book. The composition inside the panels brings us depth perception and scale to what we see. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this amazing eye for storytelling. The colour work is beautifully done as well. There is some really nice colour blocking and how it interacts with the lines creates this optical illusion that's divine. Also the weathered camo look works for this and overall I really like the application between day time and night time is done.
Can Charlie overcome his own insecurities and stand up for himself or will he bring his new friends into some serious trouble? The newfound power he finds with Jill, I feel like there should be some Charlie's Angels references here, is something that hopefully will embolden him in ways he never thought were possible. In the meantime I think this could be one of the next years hottest most talked about franchises, see what I did there.