IDW Publishing 2019
Written by Ted Adams
Illustrated by Gabriel Rodríguez
Coloured by Nelson Dániel
Lettered by Robbie Robbins
THE POWERHOUSE CLIMAX OF A RE-IMAGINED SCIENCE FICTION CLASSIC!
The action ramps up as Ellie learns more about Moreau’s experiments on the animals that have been brought to the island. At the same time, the animals start to question the authority of the man who changed them. Will Moreau’s hubris lead to his own downfall? Will Ellie escape the island?
I still don't understand why there is a need to switch the gender of characters hen re-imagining something. Honestly if there was a need for a gender swap why not really go there and let Dr. Moreau be a woman? This way as a female doctor being considered an outcast and undermined and everything else that comes with in that era it could expand upon the whole idea of hubris. Turning Captain Perryman into a female character for the sake of it and even going as far as changing the name is something I just don't understand. This is the only thing even remotely negative I have to say about this story.
After finding herself in the forest and seeing what she did it is no wonder she is both in awe and in sheer terror of everything she is beholding. The way that this is being told is so amazingly well done and it's not just the story and the writing it's also Gabriel and Nelson's work on the interiors as well. This is only two oversized issues and I wish it were a lot more than that to really get into the story more because a tale like this begs to be expanded,
The story & plot development that we are seeing here as we get to see the information be released as the story demands it. The character development is beautifully done as well and to see the emotions in the full range that person can experience within the characters as we see it happen. When you factor in the pacing for the story and how certain elements were left out and others shifted to different characters you can see how all the effectiveness and how critical pacing is. Also it is when we see the twists, turns and revelations as well and all of this creates this ebb & flow for the book that is so utterly tremendous.
The interiors here are utterly spectacular. The linework is exquisite and seeing how the varying weights are being utilised to bring out the attention to detail is truly exceptional. The creativity and imagination that we see here and how the linework is utilised to bring these beast-men to life is better than you could imagine or Hollywood would be able to CGI. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this masters eye for storytelling. This includes the two-page spread layout and how backgrounds are utilised so that we see this amazing depth perception as well as this sense of scale. The colour work is divine and to see the shadow work so that leaves darken the face in these patterns is stupendous. How the base colour it taken and then we see the hues and tones within it to create this shading and patterning in the fur is so well rendered. Plus the colours in the backgrounds, I mean good grief Charlie Brown.
I stand by this isn't long enough and that I wish there hadn't been a gender swap but overall this is what storytelling is about. I would love to see this team take on the beginning of the Island's transformation. Who was the first, how the laws were thought up and enforced not to mention when he became stark raving bonkers. The can of worms is officially open and the way that we see the end here begs the question how can such a diverse collection sustain itself here? Definitely one of the most stunning displays of storytelling you'll see.