Kevin Eastman Studios 2019
Story by Kevin Eastman & David Avallone
Written by David Avallone
Layouts by Kevin Eastman
Final Artwork by Troy Little
Coloured by Tomi Varga
From the pages of DRAWING BLOOD and the mind of Kevin Eastman comes the story-inside-the-story: the indie comic about three crime-fighting mutant cats which launched the Ragdolls franchise in 1992, and kicked off Ragdolls-mania! See where it all began, in this thrilling one-shot...
I love this, unabashedly so as the boys bring these characters to life. There is most assuredly a tongue-in-cheek style origin happening here and it’s freakin delightful. The myriad of things that they have had to go through to become who they are reads like an origins checklist and with the way this is presented to us it has this ring of genius about it. Now you do or rather should read Drawing Blood first but if you don’t well that’s okay but I highly recommend that you do.
The idea that this is a story inside a story is pretty great. This is the creation of Shane “Books” Bookman and we’re seeing his vision come to life and it’s what made him famous. It also temporarily made him rich but that vein of thought is for a different book lol. The way that this story is told is utterly fantastic. The opening puts us smack dab in the middle of things and I find this a wonderful way to start things off. It feels like girls are established already and we are just happening across them for the first time. It grabs the readers’ interest and piques the curiosity in all the right ways and it does make you want to see more.
The way the book is structured so that we see how the plot & story development are utilised to showcase the characters and the characterisation while also providing a sensational feel of how this is paced. The narrative approach to the storytelling from one their own is a superb way to get to know the girls as seen by them so while it may be a tad biased it is actually brutally honest as well. While I get the gist of what drives the girls I also have to say that I get a very strong Charlie’s Angels vibe to the group. So what interests me moving forward is how they are going to develop their style of adventures.
The interior artwork here is so charming and so dynamic as the characters are brought to life. The character designs are brilliant and while Otomo seems to have a face like a mask thanks to her own natural colouring makes for an interesting look. It raises questions but nothing that can’t just be left alone. The linework and the attention to detail that we see here show a very strong understanding on how to manipulate the varying weights needed to make this as awesome as it is. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a strong, well seasoned eye for storytelling. There is plenty of backgrounds being utilised here makes me incredibly happy as they expand the moments and bring that size and scope to the world. The colour work is gorgeous as we see light sources utilised to create shading, with colour gradation, and ambience within the pages.
I adore the fact that Kevin and David have created a new series that’s both familiar and fresh and new. The dichotomy isn’t lost on me trust me. This is fun, slightly crazy and sometimes over the top but it feels as if this is precisely what it’s supposed to be. The characterisation is marvellous and the way you become involved, engaged and invested in the story is done so subtlety that by the last page you are hooked for life. Oh yeah this is another one that we need to see on a monthly basis that of course is based upon what Books has in mind.