Zenescope Entertainment 2018
Written by Terry Kavanagh
Illustrated by Daniel Maine
Coloured by Bryan Valenza
Lettered by Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios
As we learn more about Diego, and what makes him the man he is today, the Musketeers discover what they're seeking-- along with the ugly truth about Merlin and the city leader they're working with. But not all of the Musketeers are on the same page about what this means. Is this the end for the Musketeers already?
Wow it’s only issue two and Terry is managing not only to get the story underway with earnest but he’s also giving us some incredibly good characterisation and mystery as well. Aside from the huge reveal in the first issue and how we see things progress in this one it’s very clear to me that you cannot take anything at face value and trying to guess what’s gonna happen next is fruitless because you’ll never be able to accurately guess.
I really like the way the book is structured as Terry manages to create a great ebb & flow throughout the pages. It reads extremely well and while we know what machinations are happening with the characters on all sides they do not and that is where some terrific tension comes into play. The use of narration boxes allows Terry to really let us get into that specific characters head and add that extra oomph of characterisation to flesh them out even more.
The banter between the three of them is nice as it shows us the level of familiarity between them even with the whole love triangle thing going on behind the scenes. Though that may become moot since Diego’s power set has a side effect, that being he’s impervious to feelings. Which of course opens up different avenues for the sub-plots within the larger ones. That is another aspect of this book that I am pretty impressed with the way the story is layered so that not only does it have that vigilante aspect but almost a Dynasty one as well. This layering effect just heightens the interest factor enough that it becomes almost irresistible to put down.
Daniel and Bryan do some utterly wow work here. I mean the whole look, tone and feel of this series is amazing to see as the attention to detail in ever aspect of the work. I love the superhero feel of what they do and how it manages to incorporate so many different things, the Mission Impossible scene was pretty flawlessly executed. Though honestly Diego does need a new look that seems more Musketeer in nature. The utilisation of page layouts so we see the different angles and perspective in the panels shows an extremely good eye for storytelling. Might I also mention the use of backgrounds here that are just as detailed as everything else making the story expand nicely.
So as the story progresses and the team starts doing things on their own through both manipulation and well let’s say their nature causing us to really see them for who they are. The level of storytelling and characterisation here is extremely impressive as they work together to advance the story and plot development. The fact that there are so many different things happening at once is actually what ultimately keeps the reader coming back. If it weren’t so well done we wouldn’t want to come back so really kudos to Terry for the absolutely incredible job he’s doing here.
The anti-hero or vigilante aspect of the book or just they are being duped into being villains makes for a great concept. That the Book of Fables is what gave them their gifts just cements their place in the Zenescope Universe. This is the kind of comic that we want to read!