Hexagon #1
Impact Theory 2020
Written by Michael Moreci
Illustrated by Jheremy Raapack
Coloured by Abraham Lee, David Kim & Nuo Xu
Lettered by A Larger World Studios Farhad Heydarian & Abraham Lee
It's the 1980's and all twelve-year-old Don wants to do is play video games at the local arcade. Don's father, however, refuses to let him play. Egged on by his friends and trying to impress a girl, Don sneaks out to join an all-night game-a-thon. Defying the odds (and on his first quarter ever!), Don beats Crucible, a game long considered unbeatable. In an instant, his world is turned upside down when his victory triggers an alien invasion and sucks him into an intergalactic battle that has been raging for years...a battle his father was desperately trying to protect him from.
I really loved this one. It has so many elements to it that remind me of being a kid in the 80's with films such as The Last Starfighter. That this is an all-ages title is a perfect way to catch the attention of new younger fans and us well established fans. The opening here is fantastic and I love the way the play on misdirection goes as it really does this whole amazing number on the mind. It does grab your attention, draw you in and engages the reader straight away. I have to say that while I know Michael is an amazing writer it impresses with how much he's able to do here straight away.
I am very much liking the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented beautifully. This ties into the character development as well. How we see Don's father and his feelings towards video games shapes how the two interact and show what it's like being a teenager who can't do what they wish. It is a very complex relationship and it plays throughout everything we see here and honestly Michael I believe nails this like I have never seen done before. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it helps to create the books overall ebb & flow.
This is geared towards more a teen audience though younger folks can enjoy it too. It really brings back memories of fighting with the parents and thinking I was more mature than I was and that I was right. Of course my family didn't have these kinds of secrets though and I wasn't much of an Arcade guy though we had one up the street which we used to hang out at. Regardless if you are going through it now or have in the past everyone should be able to relate tot his.
The interiors here are fantastic! The linework is great and how we see the varying weights being utilised to bring out this attention to detail is phenomenal. I say this because what we see is pretty much this whole blend of U.S. Manga or animated style that just clicks on every single aspect of the work. This is beautifully done and the way we see backgrounds being utilised within the composition in the panels show us this nice depth perception, scale and overall sense of size and scope of the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a skilled eye for storytelling. The colour work here is great to see. While it is very solid there is still this nice utilisation of light sources so we see some good hues and tones within thee colour to create the shading, highlights and shadow work. The overall aesthetic of what we see is so on point with the whole concept here and I doth my cap for the work.
I keep saying we need more books that can be discussed around a device free meal. This fits the bill for that as well. There are a lot of aspects within this that can translate to our real lives that make for some really good solid conversation. If this is going to be Impact Theory's version of all-ages then make room because this is going to take the industry by surprise!
Impact Theory 2020
Written by Michael Moreci
Illustrated by Jheremy Raapack
Coloured by Abraham Lee, David Kim & Nuo Xu
Lettered by A Larger World Studios Farhad Heydarian & Abraham Lee
It's the 1980's and all twelve-year-old Don wants to do is play video games at the local arcade. Don's father, however, refuses to let him play. Egged on by his friends and trying to impress a girl, Don sneaks out to join an all-night game-a-thon. Defying the odds (and on his first quarter ever!), Don beats Crucible, a game long considered unbeatable. In an instant, his world is turned upside down when his victory triggers an alien invasion and sucks him into an intergalactic battle that has been raging for years...a battle his father was desperately trying to protect him from.
I really loved this one. It has so many elements to it that remind me of being a kid in the 80's with films such as The Last Starfighter. That this is an all-ages title is a perfect way to catch the attention of new younger fans and us well established fans. The opening here is fantastic and I love the way the play on misdirection goes as it really does this whole amazing number on the mind. It does grab your attention, draw you in and engages the reader straight away. I have to say that while I know Michael is an amazing writer it impresses with how much he's able to do here straight away.
I am very much liking the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented beautifully. This ties into the character development as well. How we see Don's father and his feelings towards video games shapes how the two interact and show what it's like being a teenager who can't do what they wish. It is a very complex relationship and it plays throughout everything we see here and honestly Michael I believe nails this like I have never seen done before. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it helps to create the books overall ebb & flow.
This is geared towards more a teen audience though younger folks can enjoy it too. It really brings back memories of fighting with the parents and thinking I was more mature than I was and that I was right. Of course my family didn't have these kinds of secrets though and I wasn't much of an Arcade guy though we had one up the street which we used to hang out at. Regardless if you are going through it now or have in the past everyone should be able to relate tot his.
The interiors here are fantastic! The linework is great and how we see the varying weights being utilised to bring out this attention to detail is phenomenal. I say this because what we see is pretty much this whole blend of U.S. Manga or animated style that just clicks on every single aspect of the work. This is beautifully done and the way we see backgrounds being utilised within the composition in the panels show us this nice depth perception, scale and overall sense of size and scope of the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a skilled eye for storytelling. The colour work here is great to see. While it is very solid there is still this nice utilisation of light sources so we see some good hues and tones within thee colour to create the shading, highlights and shadow work. The overall aesthetic of what we see is so on point with the whole concept here and I doth my cap for the work.
I keep saying we need more books that can be discussed around a device free meal. This fits the bill for that as well. There are a lot of aspects within this that can translate to our real lives that make for some really good solid conversation. If this is going to be Impact Theory's version of all-ages then make room because this is going to take the industry by surprise!
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