Written by Rodney Barnes
Illustrated by Jason Shawn Alexander
Coloured by Luis NCT
Lettered by Marshall Dillon
“SINS OF THE FATHER,” Part Three.
Founding father John Adams has stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself as the undead source of Philadelphia’s vampire outbreak. With a legion at his command, he makes plans to cut the rot from America’s core. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Jose must fight for their lives at the city morgue as the dead rise off their slabs.
Jeez Louise, Mary and Josephine this is such an amazing story. The fact that in this issue we learn the past of President John Adams, how he has felt all these years and his own personal life story is so perfectly depicted within these pages. Add into that our father and son duo with their unresolved issues along with Jose. If all that wasn't enough there's still room to focus on the kid as well. There is so much happening within these pages and yet the pacing and the structure of this book is mindbogglingly incredible. My hat is off to Rodney for displaying some of the maddest skill, talent, creativity and nerve through his ability to write.
The story & plot development we see through the way the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is expertly put forward. There are layers of storytelling told in different styles and yet all of them feel so incredibly natural to the one in focus. This kind of talent isn't learned it's god-given and quite I am wholeheartedly astonished by how much veneration I have for the man. The character development is breathtaking in it's scope and detail. It honestly doesn't matter who the speaker is as they all receive the same level of attention in being fleshed out whether by dialogue or how the act and react to situations and circumstances. The pacing is blood well perfect and as it takes through the pages and reveals the twists and turns along way we are treated to this ebb & flow that is able to bewitch, bothered and bewildered.
I wish I could pull the kids name out of my arse but I can't and honestly it's bothering me a little bit we know his grandmother said to the nurse. Regardless, he is that star no one is really thinking about. While Sr. and Jr. have their thing and President Adams is well him the kid is quietly stealing the show here. I like him and I think he's going to be pivotal to the story and I cannot wait to see in what manner it happens.
Jason's interiors are just as formidable as the story itself. You can see him channelling the power and energy of the written word as he brings them to life. This imagery is so strong and compelling and the linework is exquisite so that the attention to detail shines here. When we see backgrounds here they add such drama and intrigue into what we see not to mention the depth perception, scale and overall sense of size and scope to the story. That rooftop moment with the brick work and then the lights in the buildings the distance really evoke such feeling from the reader. The composition we see in the panels is sublime and with the utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels really highlights this arresting eye for storytelling. The colour work is breathtaking and how we see the colours and their various hues and tones create the shading, highlights and shadows really highlights a conversant knowledge of how colour works.
This story is groundbreaking in that we see an approach to the vampyr legend and we're not even seeing the beginning of how that came to be just how President Adam's came into being one. With the depth of characters and characterisation that we see here this is as good as if not better than any story you are going to read, regardless of genre. It is that solidly written and so smashingly illustrated that it's ability to transport you to another time and place leaves the reader mesmerised.