Impact Theory 2019
Story by Jim Krueger, Tom Bilyeu, Steve Aoki, Matt Colo
Samantha Levenshus & Dana Brewer
Written by Jim Krueger & Tom Bilyeu
Pencilled by Neil Edwards & Jheremy Raapack
Inked by Keith Champagne
Coloured by Abraham Lee
Lettered by Clem Robins
The world is in the grips of an economic crisis. Due to mass unemployment, advanced technology has been outlawed. The world is now divided between those with implanted technology and those without. When the world's most famous anti-tech crusader dies and is resurrected using the illegal technology he has sworn to eliminate, he must decide who to fight with his terrifying new powers.
There is a concept here that I think is really nicely thought out. I feel as if seeing it in these pages the fact that when man is in trouble he creates something to get himself out of it, then seeing that this solution isn’t working he then condemns it and so fully is just a stunning revelation of human nature on display here. Men filled with greed create and tell the public it’s for them then when they need to change their tune and the sheeple that is the public get riled up in blind rage, kind of what I see happening now, it gets dangerous.
So what these fine folks do here is drop us right in the middle of a feud that’s been going on for a while now. So yes, we get that sense of the background information throughout the story and the actions that are taken and that’s fantastic. I enjoy the way that the bits and pieces allow the reader to extrapolate their own version of what happened in the past. It is done this way so that it engages the reader and encourages them to keep reading, to become invested in the story and Jim knows how to do this with the best of the best of them.
I adore the way that this is structured. The ebb & flow of the book really is sensational and the way that we see the events happen, the way that things are revealed and the way it is able to bring us that vision of this world so clearly is truly amazing. There is another aspect to this story that I will not reveal but in it’s way is both obvious and genius all at the same time and I ask you how often that dichotomy is able to stand firm?
The interiors here blew me away. I love how the linework is utilised here through it’s varying weights and how that is then turned into all this attention to detail which grips the reader so intensely. The first panel on the second page is what got me over-the-moon excited to see what else is going on here visually. There is an intensity and drama to the work that doesn’t even need words to describe what is happening. By the way this includes the colour work as well because i’ll be damned if that monitor didn’t just pop in the right way. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels really show us this seasoned and miraculous eye for storytelling. In this type of book there aren’t enough utilisation of backgrounds pure and simple. When we see them they are instrumental to the story, the moment and providing that size and scope of the world. Also throughout this book the colours that we see which are breathtaking.
What I really like is that while this isn’t going to change the world it does stand out from the crowd. It is this whole culmination of extremely talented folks who came together at that right moment in time to produce something extraordinaire. Strong writing, characterisation, story & plot development along with this pacing and interior artwork say hey here we are and we aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Welcome to the Industry Impact Theory, I look forward to seeing what you have in store for us!