Boom! Studios 2018
Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Illustrated by Flaviano
Coloured by Miquel Muerto
Lettered by Jim Campbell
Separated and surrounded by enemies, the kids feel as though they have nowhere to turn… and that’s before they find a mysterious journal, belonging to a survivor named Abraham.
By every god in every pantheon that ever existed do I swear by this book. Next issue simply cannot be the last I simply won’t allow that pure and simple. The writing Phillip is doing here is beyond exceptional and while I have not idea to the full extent of what the heck is going on here I do know that I NEED to know. The kids were brought here and not whom we think and that they are hunted not only by that Government Agent but by something else as well, well not everything is what anyone thinks.
I find what we see as The Pantheon part of the story to be interesting. I mean this is part of what we might consider destiny or the manipulation of events depending on your point of view. Even more interesting is that Harm was actually among the Pantheon so her interaction with the group isn’t by chance or mistake it’s meant to have happened. The way the book is structured and how the story flows and things start to coalesce in ways that bring the bigger picture into play. All of if it conspires to make this such a startling good story that I am engrossed in.
The characterisation here is really nice to see as well. This is a group of teenagers after all and one Agent and a few unbalanced helpers so this isn’t something that can’t be too easy to keep track of. Kind of like names here they are never really used thankfully Emma’s name is used this issue so I can finally use it. Of course the fact that Amir is also communicating with Abraham through what we, okay maybe just I, think of as psychic paper ads another layer of characterisation that while in an unexpected way certainly serves to enhance the story greatly.
The confrontation between Shawn and Amir this issue was everything. Both boys lying and or hiding, think omission of the facts or truth, to keep themselves safe yeah that’s going to bring some to blows. Still the way that it’s handled here is beautifully done and shows us that both boys have fire and gumption. While we know why Amir did what he did the real question is Shawn and his background right and what his truth is.
I like the interiors here and Flaviano does such a great job with them. Though if I am to be honest I think Miquel steals the show a bit with the colouring. I mean to be able to bring the Copper Sky to life like he does with these bright psychedelic colours, that remind me of my youth. Though the eyes and faces here are so open and expressive it’s really lovely to see. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels hsows off a nice strong eye for storytelling. The way that backgrounds are utilised is nicely done and whether it’s just the crazy flow of colours or with the attention to detail to enhance the moments and size and scope of the story.
This really is something fun, interesting and completely unexpected. The dark whimsy, which would make the Face/Off artists from SyFy squee with the chance to create, and the dangers not to mention a glimmer of hope that feels almost like Pyrite or Fool’s Gold. The sensations that we get here through the combination of the writing and visuals makes this what it is and more.