Never Never #5
Virus/Heavy Metal Comics 2021
Written by Marc McCann
Illustrated by Phil Buckenham
Coloured by Angese Pozza
Lettered by David Withers
As armies of killer king Petros, strike the heart of the pirate stronghold, Winter must make a last effort to free the denizens of the Never and get back home. Aided by the fairies, will it be enough to get past legions of feral boys and the killer king himself!
Well here we are with the end of what is presumably the first chapter in this story. I say this because of how we see the ending as I feel it sets up the next chapter in this tale. Which I’d very much like to see because I know they all think the creator is responsible for the Never Never and while he very much is once you create an idea and it’s published then who's to say that the public and their reading of the work and their own creativity and imagination doesn’t sustain the world he created? One of things that I adore about this series is that it takes the reader off page and engages their mind in ways that make you think more existentially than you might have you realised you would do. After all, how do you kill an idea?
I absolutely love the way that this is being told. 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 which they encounter does a magnificent job in fleshing out their personalities even further. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more we’re engaged and our minds are taken off page and it’s a stunning thing to have happen.
I’m a huge fan of the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I’m also a fan of the way that the layers open up new avenues to be explored. Whether these avenues are created by McCann or the readers’ own mind is not relevant because it all adds this delicious depth, dimension and complexity to the story. 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.
I have noticed that with each issue that has come out we’ve had the pleasure of watching Phil grow more comfortable and skilled with the level of work he’s doing on the interiors. This issue is the best work he’s done on the series so far and I’d cannot wait to see what he has in store for the next arc as it’s been a real joy to watch him blossom as an artist. The linework is strong, clean and crisp and the varying weights we see being utilised to create the detail within the work is nicely rendered. I would still like to see more backgrounds being utilised, that being said how we see the composition within the panels bringing out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is fabulous. I’m impressed with the double page spread fight scene and how it embodies everything I’ve been talking about here. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a strong eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work are extremely well rendered.
A far cry from J.M. Barrie’s original writing though it does tend to depict the madness that would extend from being eternally youthful and it’s a more in your face, shocking portrayal of the after effects such an existence would create. With some bold writing and interesting characterisation all wrapped up in these interiors this isn’t for the faint of heart but for those who love a good old fashioned twist to a classic tale.
Virus/Heavy Metal Comics 2021
Written by Marc McCann
Illustrated by Phil Buckenham
Coloured by Angese Pozza
Lettered by David Withers
As armies of killer king Petros, strike the heart of the pirate stronghold, Winter must make a last effort to free the denizens of the Never and get back home. Aided by the fairies, will it be enough to get past legions of feral boys and the killer king himself!
Well here we are with the end of what is presumably the first chapter in this story. I say this because of how we see the ending as I feel it sets up the next chapter in this tale. Which I’d very much like to see because I know they all think the creator is responsible for the Never Never and while he very much is once you create an idea and it’s published then who's to say that the public and their reading of the work and their own creativity and imagination doesn’t sustain the world he created? One of things that I adore about this series is that it takes the reader off page and engages their mind in ways that make you think more existentially than you might have you realised you would do. After all, how do you kill an idea?
I absolutely love the way that this is being told. 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 which they encounter does a magnificent job in fleshing out their personalities even further. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more we’re engaged and our minds are taken off page and it’s a stunning thing to have happen.
I’m a huge fan of the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I’m also a fan of the way that the layers open up new avenues to be explored. Whether these avenues are created by McCann or the readers’ own mind is not relevant because it all adds this delicious depth, dimension and complexity to the story. 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.
I have noticed that with each issue that has come out we’ve had the pleasure of watching Phil grow more comfortable and skilled with the level of work he’s doing on the interiors. This issue is the best work he’s done on the series so far and I’d cannot wait to see what he has in store for the next arc as it’s been a real joy to watch him blossom as an artist. The linework is strong, clean and crisp and the varying weights we see being utilised to create the detail within the work is nicely rendered. I would still like to see more backgrounds being utilised, that being said how we see the composition within the panels bringing out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is fabulous. I’m impressed with the double page spread fight scene and how it embodies everything I’ve been talking about here. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a strong eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work are extremely well rendered.
A far cry from J.M. Barrie’s original writing though it does tend to depict the madness that would extend from being eternally youthful and it’s a more in your face, shocking portrayal of the after effects such an existence would create. With some bold writing and interesting characterisation all wrapped up in these interiors this isn’t for the faint of heart but for those who love a good old fashioned twist to a classic tale.
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