John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Twitch #1
Storm King Comics 2018
Written by Duane Swierczynski
Illustrated by Richard P. Clark
Lettered by Janice Chiang
Cover by Tim Bradstreet
The desert above Los Angeles is a harsh, unforgiving place. The heat does something to people's brains--or so thinks Lieutenant Ron Pinkerton, who is investigating a series of shockingly violent crimes perpetrated by the most unlikely suspects. Meanwhile, just a few miles away, astrophysicists at the Mount Wilson Observatory are grappling with another kind of threat, one that threatens to extinguish humanity in the time it takes for your eye to twitch.
YES YES YES all day YES! Oh my god you know what this reminds me of? Old science fiction horror films which unfortunately you find on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 these days. Still without those we wouldn’t have modern day tales and here because Duane is a writer of par excellence he really makes this blend of classic and modern work on so many levels. Even concept wise this is something that has been touched upon before but never like this and that’s another area in which Duane stands out.
The opening is intriguing for a few reasons and the narration is a large part of that. It almost feels ambiguous so that it could mean any number of things and the visually speaking we aren’t sure what exactly is happening. That is what makes the reader want to see and learn more. Seeing how it does start this whole thing off later in the story is very well done. So how the book is structured shows that seasoned hand, well in this case mind, that he has.
That we see this crazy scene unfold before us and it too is pretty intriguing because your like what’s going on here? I will say this gotta give a shout out to Janice because the balloons and the font in the lettering stands out and catches the eye and attention nicely. Honestly this sequence of events would have also made one hell of an opening of it’s own so it could be considered a second opening and one that starts off the adventure in earnest.
So at Mount Wilson Observatory we meet Dr. Stringfellow or just Marissa. Now I don’t know how, why or when this all happened but that’s part of the mystery that is occurring here. Though thanks to Marissa we see some kind of aftermath that has left much of the Observatory in quite the state. So I do so hope that at some point this is a flashback sequence, after all when the truth all comes out it’s going to have to be recounted.
I really am enjoying the interiors here. Richard has a very nice grasp on how to manipulate the varying weights of the linework in order to bring such attention to detail to his work. The lines are strong, sure and confident feeling to me which is something that a reader feels but doesn’t always recognise. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a really great eye for storytelling. That we see backgrounds utilised as we do is great to see as they really flesh out and expand moments and show a size and scope to the story. Also the colours here equally as impressive I love the red and blue lights, the red inside the Observatory and the overall shading and use of light sources is nicely done.
The introduction of characters here is so well done and the pacing of it all has this incredibly natural feel to it. When I finished reading this I cannot accurately describe just how I felt because I was filled with so many emotions. Above all however was how classic this felt and how original and thrilling it is. Duane has written a stellar first issue to his arc and the pacing, story & plot development and characterisation alongside these sensational interiors make this better than an episode of the X-Files.
Storm King Comics 2018
Written by Duane Swierczynski
Illustrated by Richard P. Clark
Lettered by Janice Chiang
Cover by Tim Bradstreet
The desert above Los Angeles is a harsh, unforgiving place. The heat does something to people's brains--or so thinks Lieutenant Ron Pinkerton, who is investigating a series of shockingly violent crimes perpetrated by the most unlikely suspects. Meanwhile, just a few miles away, astrophysicists at the Mount Wilson Observatory are grappling with another kind of threat, one that threatens to extinguish humanity in the time it takes for your eye to twitch.
YES YES YES all day YES! Oh my god you know what this reminds me of? Old science fiction horror films which unfortunately you find on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 these days. Still without those we wouldn’t have modern day tales and here because Duane is a writer of par excellence he really makes this blend of classic and modern work on so many levels. Even concept wise this is something that has been touched upon before but never like this and that’s another area in which Duane stands out.
The opening is intriguing for a few reasons and the narration is a large part of that. It almost feels ambiguous so that it could mean any number of things and the visually speaking we aren’t sure what exactly is happening. That is what makes the reader want to see and learn more. Seeing how it does start this whole thing off later in the story is very well done. So how the book is structured shows that seasoned hand, well in this case mind, that he has.
That we see this crazy scene unfold before us and it too is pretty intriguing because your like what’s going on here? I will say this gotta give a shout out to Janice because the balloons and the font in the lettering stands out and catches the eye and attention nicely. Honestly this sequence of events would have also made one hell of an opening of it’s own so it could be considered a second opening and one that starts off the adventure in earnest.
So at Mount Wilson Observatory we meet Dr. Stringfellow or just Marissa. Now I don’t know how, why or when this all happened but that’s part of the mystery that is occurring here. Though thanks to Marissa we see some kind of aftermath that has left much of the Observatory in quite the state. So I do so hope that at some point this is a flashback sequence, after all when the truth all comes out it’s going to have to be recounted.
I really am enjoying the interiors here. Richard has a very nice grasp on how to manipulate the varying weights of the linework in order to bring such attention to detail to his work. The lines are strong, sure and confident feeling to me which is something that a reader feels but doesn’t always recognise. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a really great eye for storytelling. That we see backgrounds utilised as we do is great to see as they really flesh out and expand moments and show a size and scope to the story. Also the colours here equally as impressive I love the red and blue lights, the red inside the Observatory and the overall shading and use of light sources is nicely done.
The introduction of characters here is so well done and the pacing of it all has this incredibly natural feel to it. When I finished reading this I cannot accurately describe just how I felt because I was filled with so many emotions. Above all however was how classic this felt and how original and thrilling it is. Duane has written a stellar first issue to his arc and the pacing, story & plot development and characterisation alongside these sensational interiors make this better than an episode of the X-Files.
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