Honor and Curse #2
Mad Cave Studios 2019
Written by Mark London
Illustrated by Nicolas Salamanca
Coloured by Tekino
Logo & Lettered by Miguel Zapata
Previously…
Orphaned as a young boy, Genshi Sakagura was adopted by the Iga Clan after witnessing the murder of his parents. Now, Genshi is a promising young Shinobi with dreams of marrying Lord Haruki’s beautiful daughter, Akemi, and leading the Iga Clan warriors into battle.
However, Genshi is plagued by a spirit that haunts his dreams and blurs the lines between dreams and reality around him, a secret known only by those closest to him. That all changed when Lord Haruki witnessed Genshi lose control during a training session. Now, Lord Haruki wants nothing more than Genshi dead – all for the good of the village….
Genshi’s pendant still holds the key and I am adamant about that though why isn’t yet clear to me. We’ll get there if I know Mark so I will wait, impatiently but still, because in the meantime it is time for Genshi to realise his passenger isn’t just a part of his dreams and that he’s been betrayed by all those he holds dear. Well okay so not Akemi or his best friend and roommate Takeshi but that will come into play I am sure. There is something about this that isn’t just true for these folks in this culture but it’s more a universal truth. A leader who is frightened by someone who has the capability to take away everything he’s built.
My big question is why, what is Lord Haruki hiding that he doesn’t want anyone to know so that Genshi is such a huge threat to him? You’d think a man like Haruki would want to cultivate Genshi and turn him into his own instrument instead of having him killed. So many questions swirling around in my brain and this is something Mark does exceptionally well, engaging the reader to the point where they go beyond what’s on the page and seek answers within their own minds based off of what they are seeing. It is a heck of a thing to be able to do on such a consistent basis just goes to show that Mark was ready to be taken seriously as a writer.
I am loving the interiors here as well. The sense of movement that is achieved in these pages is something so many books can’t achieve and to get to feel it here is amazing. Also the linework is simply exquisite in how it brings out the attention to detail here. The little touches like stray hairs during practice to the way the muscles become taut or loosened are things that many won’t notice or take for granted but they are the elements that make this stand out more. Also there is a tenderness in Genshi and Akemi’s actions and that too could have turned towards the vulgar but didn’t. p.s. that moon oh my god. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show us a great eye for storytelling. I am enjoying the colour work here as well. There is some excellent shading though we could do with a bit more colour gradation instead of dark and light hues in some colours.
The story is under way and it’s not wasting any time at all. While nothing feels rushed, left out or glossed over that is because of how the pacing is being done. That along with the books structuring allow for Mark to be able to tell the story with those little jumps from scene to scene that still make the story feel complete. I like how I see the title of the book tying into Genshi himself and few others because while under the impression that honour was a huge deal the backstabbing, underhanded way Lord Haruki is trying to remove him well that’s gonna bite him in the arse just wait and see.
Mad Cave is small but mighty. Instead of trying to make big pushes they are putting out high quality books so that they can stand with their heads held high. Also you really need to be making sure your store knows about these as well.
Mad Cave Studios 2019
Written by Mark London
Illustrated by Nicolas Salamanca
Coloured by Tekino
Logo & Lettered by Miguel Zapata
Previously…
Orphaned as a young boy, Genshi Sakagura was adopted by the Iga Clan after witnessing the murder of his parents. Now, Genshi is a promising young Shinobi with dreams of marrying Lord Haruki’s beautiful daughter, Akemi, and leading the Iga Clan warriors into battle.
However, Genshi is plagued by a spirit that haunts his dreams and blurs the lines between dreams and reality around him, a secret known only by those closest to him. That all changed when Lord Haruki witnessed Genshi lose control during a training session. Now, Lord Haruki wants nothing more than Genshi dead – all for the good of the village….
Genshi’s pendant still holds the key and I am adamant about that though why isn’t yet clear to me. We’ll get there if I know Mark so I will wait, impatiently but still, because in the meantime it is time for Genshi to realise his passenger isn’t just a part of his dreams and that he’s been betrayed by all those he holds dear. Well okay so not Akemi or his best friend and roommate Takeshi but that will come into play I am sure. There is something about this that isn’t just true for these folks in this culture but it’s more a universal truth. A leader who is frightened by someone who has the capability to take away everything he’s built.
My big question is why, what is Lord Haruki hiding that he doesn’t want anyone to know so that Genshi is such a huge threat to him? You’d think a man like Haruki would want to cultivate Genshi and turn him into his own instrument instead of having him killed. So many questions swirling around in my brain and this is something Mark does exceptionally well, engaging the reader to the point where they go beyond what’s on the page and seek answers within their own minds based off of what they are seeing. It is a heck of a thing to be able to do on such a consistent basis just goes to show that Mark was ready to be taken seriously as a writer.
I am loving the interiors here as well. The sense of movement that is achieved in these pages is something so many books can’t achieve and to get to feel it here is amazing. Also the linework is simply exquisite in how it brings out the attention to detail here. The little touches like stray hairs during practice to the way the muscles become taut or loosened are things that many won’t notice or take for granted but they are the elements that make this stand out more. Also there is a tenderness in Genshi and Akemi’s actions and that too could have turned towards the vulgar but didn’t. p.s. that moon oh my god. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show us a great eye for storytelling. I am enjoying the colour work here as well. There is some excellent shading though we could do with a bit more colour gradation instead of dark and light hues in some colours.
The story is under way and it’s not wasting any time at all. While nothing feels rushed, left out or glossed over that is because of how the pacing is being done. That along with the books structuring allow for Mark to be able to tell the story with those little jumps from scene to scene that still make the story feel complete. I like how I see the title of the book tying into Genshi himself and few others because while under the impression that honour was a huge deal the backstabbing, underhanded way Lord Haruki is trying to remove him well that’s gonna bite him in the arse just wait and see.
Mad Cave is small but mighty. Instead of trying to make big pushes they are putting out high quality books so that they can stand with their heads held high. Also you really need to be making sure your store knows about these as well.
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