Aftershock Comics 2021
Written by Paul Tobin
Illustrated by Andy McDonald
Coloured by DJ Chavis
Lettered by Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios
What’s one more monster in a world filled with horror? A LOT. really. when it’s as bad as this one! Risa and Croak set off to fight this new terror. even as Risa fights the knowledge that the only true way she can save the world is by falling in love. like…maybe she should go on some of those dates her daughter set up for her? It’s a choice between the creeps and the creepy!
So each issue should be a bit stronger and more intense than the one before it and spoiler alert this one certainly is all that and more. For a story that deals in nightmares come to life there’s a fair amount of humour in this to balance the story out extremely well. Granted most comes as a result of Machi, Risa’s daughter, but leave it to kids to be the voice of reason and where the humour comes from whether it’s unwittingly done or intentionally. The end of the last issue introduced a new nightmare to Machi’s classroom at school and that’s where we pick up this issue and I have to say that wherever this one comes from I’m super intrigued by what it is and what it can do.
I am extremely impressed with the way that this is being told and how we see the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I am also liking the way that these layers open up new avenues to be explored. The dating angle made me laugh out loud by the way. Now whether these avenues are explored or not they all add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more we want to see and learn.
The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances does a magnificent job in further fleshing out their personalities. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.
The interiors here really are bloody brilliant. The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality in the attention to detail is utterly marvellous. How we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance and expand the moments makes me such a happy camper. How we see them work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is magnificently rendered. The creativity and imagination that we see is phenomenal and these different nightmare creatures really allow that shine like the light of the lighthouse on a foggy night. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows an exceptional eye for how colour works.
The premise is unique, without like, equal or parallel and it just grabs you by the horns and doesn’t let you go. Throw in the different avenues we see in play and how Risa and Machi live their lives just brings this to a place that makes this more relatable to. Yes a mother and daughter and their relationship with one another makes this more relatable to and that’s impressive considering that nightmares coming to life well that’s a special kind of crazy. The writing here is phenomenal while the characterisation is bloody brilliant and these interiors are simply mindbogglingly gorgeous.