The Lion Forge 2019
By Palle Schmidt
Lettered by Sean Konot
Assembly & Design by AndWorld Design
A crime story with a twist. The brutal slaying of two police officers guarding a material witness pins detectives Alphonse and Maynard against their toughest adversary yet. But as they get further into their investigation, they uncover a leak inside the police department known only as "Stiletto." What appears to be a gritty police drama takes unpredictable turns as our heroes race against the clock to solve this double homicide and flush out the mole who puts them all at risk to the criminal underworld.
I am totally into this series. What Palle has put together here is simply one of the best crime drama stories. Growing up I remember books being named after what the characters did inside it and I miss these kind of cop or Detective stories that are gritty and dirty and full of all those little things that make us want to read and watch their stories. Reading this I feel as if I’m kind of transported back to the days of Kojak or McLeod where it has that air of just rawness and complexity that sucks you into what is happening making you want to see more.
I love the way that this is structured. This issue is the culmination of what Stiletto’s life has become. Mean the information and revelations that we see here are so amazingly well orchestrated and so effin surprising to see that it kept me riveted to the pages. I mean there are moment throughout this book that just hit me like a runaway bus in Trafalgar Square. While personally I have seen a man with nothing left to lose go at it just either make or be that blaze of glory to go out in but damn if this isn’t what we are seeing here. The characterisation is so over-the-top extraordinary that there is no way in Hell that you can’t connect, empathise or relate to this man and the actions we see him taking.
This story as we see it unfolding before us would make one extremely good film! The writing and the visuals here are such that I could easily see this translated with the right actors in this role and awesome understated middle-aged man being the centre of attention and doing things that give us all the right shock and awe moments. Yeah Palle has written a masterpiece in the making here.
The interiors here are sensational and the way Palle is able to bring these characters to life in this style of his is just beautifully done. The emotion in the faces and facial expressions are so stunning to see and the transformation just in that first page alone sets the stage for what he’s capable of doing. The way that the panels are constructed so what is there gives the reader the maximum impact in some of the most unexpected of ways is impressive and awe-inspiring. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show off a masters eye for storytelling. I usually go on about backgrounds but with the quality of work here what we get is just about right. The colour work too while I love all the grey tones it’s those bits and pieces of colour that draw the eye to something sometimes unexpectedly. P.S. thank you for the penis.
So the cast of this ever changing drama is great. He killed his partner already, though no one knows yet, made a friend out of the man he aided, co-workers who are with him and a boss that wants him in the hospital. So who knows his secret that he hasn’t told anyone? Delgetti he intrigues me and if well he should live I wanna see him in a story. Anyway the way this is being told through the story & plot development, pacing and the extraordinary characterisation all wrapped up in these gorgeous interiors make this the hottest Summer Reading you are gonna have!