Scout Comics 2019
Written by James Pruett
Illustrated by Scott Van Domelen
Coloured by Ilaria Fella
After discovering the Changelings' plans for human children, Jennifer, Elita, and Alejandro find themselves on the run from their hunters who are attempting to eliminate Elita as a threat, as her reputation continues to inspire the desperate humans. While attempting to avoid detection by following the remnants of antiquated airmail beacons and fire watch towers, the crew find themselves in the middle of a hijacking of a Massive Mart supply train, the only remaining economic powerhouse in the region, full of rare supplies on its way to the wealthy class that are working in conjunction with the invading horde. Will these marauders become allies or another threat?
I am really enjoying this and while in some instances it reminds me of V this really does take on a mind of it's own with how the story meanders about. I am also a huge fan of James' writing here as he does so much to tell the story and bring us avenues and directions that we'd never have thought it would go and or take. I mean this in the best ways that could possibly be taken. Last issue we saw Hector whom we learned was Jess' cousin who had helped her kill husband and as if that weren't enough of a shock well James has plenty in store for us.
The way that this is being told is pretty darn brilliant in my humble opinion. How we see the story & plot development unfold through the sequence of events and how the reader learns information is really strongly presented to the reader. The character development that we see is astonishingly good and the fact that the way the characters interact, act and react to the situations and circumstances which makes us change how we see them blows me away. The pacing is great and I really like how it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along they helps to create the books ebb & flow. The way this all structured and how we see people come to decisions is something that James is doing extremely well and while we don't always see what's coming we want to follow regardless.
The interiors here are very nicely done. Sure there are times when I wish that the linework was a tad tighter and that the detail wasn't lost the smaller we see them. Yes I wish that backgrounds were in every panel, they do wonders when we see them in bringing us depth perception, scale and this overall sense of size and scope to the book. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a great eye for storytelling. The linework is strong and the attention to detail that we see is very well rendered. There is also the creativity and imagination that we see which is stellar stuff. The colour work we see is really nice. I like how we see the hues and tones in the colours create the shading, highlights and shadow work along with how we see the power working for Elita.
I also like the fact that this story isn't going to slow down anytime soon. With the direction this seems to be going and how the different avenues by different characters are being presented is great. I know famous last words and all but Hector needs to make more appearances in the future. This really is a great little book and shows why Scout Comics is always a go to company for quality books.