Image Comics 2015
Written by Grant Morrison
Illustrated by Chris Burnham
Coloured by Nathan Fairbairn
By all that the Pantheons of Gods that you hold dear what the holy hell is happening here? Ya know sometimes when it seems that a Doctor Who episode is all spun out of control with language by the Doctor that appears confusing and completely random and undecipherable yeah I feel like that right now. Yet despite all that this has to be one of the most intensely disturbing books i’ve had the pleasure to read and if I’m honest I’d expect this book to come from Avatar Press not Image. This is not for kids, those who are squeamish and balk at blood and nudity not to mention scenes of a disturbing nature.
I’ve been a fan of Chris’s for quite some time now and the work he does with Nathan here has to be the best stuff he’s ever done hands down. This work is inspired the attention to detail the way he utilizes panels on a page and the backgrounds are full yet highlight the characters and the mood needed for the story without feeling crowded or superfluous. I am in love with whole look of the space the suits and this giant asteroid which is somewhat misunderstood. The last page is one I want to own and don’t ask why I just want it becuase it encompassess so much of what we do and don’t understand about this book.
There has never been a question that Grant is one of the of the world’s most preeminent writers. His work will last for generations, be studied and imitated for generations to come but right now we are blessed with his unbridled imagination. The fact that this is the kind of story that I wish had been the Event Horizon is irrelevant. It hasn’t taken long for them to get to where they are but honestly this is the kind of pacing and character development matches up perfectly there isn’t a wasted moment here. From the snippets of what’s happening at the base to Darius and the whole that has been since day one they’ve been incorporated perfectly.
The excitement of the story seems to unfold continuously and in such a fashion that the reader is swept up in it like in the winds of a hurricane. The more we learn here the more we want to know and see. Chris and Nathan’s work really has so many moments that make you pause and catch your breath, page ten for instance does that unexpectedly. Jin Zhao’s fleeing is something to keep an eye on as the story unfolds. The true meaning of Xibalba revealed and the beginning of the end for the crew orbiting it continue to keep my eyes rapt upon the page.
To the first infection of Merrit which will lead to the rest of crew even with the protections upon their suits and how they become stranded there prisoners of the unseen forces at play are done in such a way that you barely register further than what you see at the moment.
Mesmerizing, gripping, intense and bloody disgusting this book manages to find a way to make the reader get lost in its pages and leaves you feeling empty and wanting when it’s done.