Tidalwave Productions 2017
Written by Andrew Shayde
Illustrated by David Martens
Lettered by Benjamin Gilbert
The monster hunter Solomon Kane's regime has crumbled. A small band of urban legends are working to return his former prisoners, legendary creatures from around the world, back home. But now the Mothman's old deal with the devil is coming back to haunt him. His curse could be stripped away, but so could his immortality.
I liked this issue aside from the obvious chance of getting to see these characters again i’m impressed with how Andrew approached this. A true test for a writer is to do a one-shot story, make it complete, interesting and never leave the reader feel like they are missing something. For someone who cut their teeth on the previous mini-series he’s proving he’s really taken this writing seriously and wants to be good at it.
As Aura, the Mothman and Choop get a chance to talk about what they’ve been through and about the future they are interrupted. It seems that with recent events being widely known someone isn’t too happy with someone and has sent a proxy to well call in their chips. I want to be less vague but you really have to read the story because it’s smartly done and I like how it unfolds for us. Using one of the three, Bigfoot and the Lizard are still around just not here, and their past to create a story in the present that not only fleshes out that character more but fulfils the theme going here is more than welcome.
The interior artwork here is pretty impressive as well. The attention to detail here is really nice to see and that the backgrounds are in play this much makes me a very happy boy. I’m not going to lie there are moments where the faces take on funny looking shapes and aren’t perfect but there really is a nice consistency to the work here. The use of page layouts are strong with the use of angles and perspective and the overall mood, tone and feel it gives off is perfectly suited for this story.
I like the characterisation here and the amount of time that the individual characters get. Okay Choop not so much but then he’s kind more a mascot, pet type creature then he is a true monster I suppose, though don’t tell him that. He’s got those moments here that add levity and lightness to the book that cut the tension and darkness beautifully.
That this story doesn’t take long after the first is also nice to see. This means that we’re seeing how the characters act and interact in more real time as they continue to get used to having one another around. This sort of strangers working together, forming a team by extension a family unit takes time and it’s nice to see that happening as the story unfolds. It’s a nice progression and Andrew really does well to incorporate that into the story and make both equally as important.
Well it’s nice to see Tidalwave with a new original series that will hopefully continue to come out. The industry needs more unique and original voices.