Action Lab Danger Zone 2019
Written by Jeffrey & Susan Bridges
Illustrated by Walter Geovani
Coloured by Brittany Peer
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Marcella’s found more fight than she bargained for, as the Augurs hide in fear for their lives. They regroup and formulate a plan to escape the city and head for the comet’s exterior, while Jackson’s frustrations grow and Farrell goes to extreme lengths to bring the Augurs in.
I really like this and it is because there are some familiar themes running through it but also because the characters are incredibly endearing. Pepper is on the spectrum somewhere you can just feel that and how the others look out for him because of that is heart-wrenching. I miss Rex already, I am sad he met his fate after being pushed way beyond what was an acceptable limit. The way that we see this bing told is really extremely nice to see and through the sequence of events and how information is released show that. The character development is phenomenal and I have already touched upon some of why I feel that way. Seriously though the way we see the characters and how we slowly learn their story so that we better understand their motivations is beyond what I was expecting. Then there's the pacing which brings about the twists and turns so that everything we see creates this fantastic ebb & flow to the story.
While Marcella has no clue why she's behaving this way it is crystal clear she's in this for the long haul. I mean her career is already over with the actions she's taken and knowing her brother suffered this fate, one she sent him to, is gnawing at her. That and I do believe she's got that Augur ability herself. So naturally we all find characters to relate to, bond with on some level and as well find those we don't like and this is where the characterisation I will continue to praises comes into play. There are three characters here who I find extremely intriguing and various reasons, Farrell for one and he is just adamantly a soldier and feels he doing the right thing, Director Jackson I feel is conflicted and is doing all this for all the wrong reasons and finally Angel who I feel there's something just not right about him. Maybe he's resigned and in his old age has lost something but then again I feel like he's a mole, telling on his compatriots or something. There are clues throughout about each of these men and the more I see the more I see conspiracy that may or may not be there.
I really like the interior artwork here. Walter has such great linework here and how he utilises the varying weights to bring out the attention to detail is utterly marvellous. He manages to create this world where it's futuristic and familiar, all the neon signs for example. Also Brittany shines here with that as well in bringing that bright almost overbearing the senses. It literally is perfectly done here and she's impressed the hell out of me with this. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a stellar eye for storytelling. That we see backgrounds so prolifically as we do is fabulous and how we see the composition shows depth perception, scale and brings a size and scope to the story. Kudos to Brittany whose work is just simple divine. The various hues and tones we see within the colours to create the shading and shadow work is on point.
I really like the way that this story is progressing. It has elements of The Fugitive, Jurassic Park and even Alien—ask me for references if you don't see them but read the book first before asking—that mash up the genre's in ways you'd never expect to see. I am so completely and utterly gobsmacked by the talent on display here and I couldn't give this series a higher recommendation.