Image Comics 2014
Created & Written by Alex Grecian
Created & Illustrated by Riley Rossmo
Coloured by Ivan Plascencia
You can’t spell imagination without Image and this is proof positive. Just the fact that Alex and Riley have been able to take history’s Mad Monk and turn him into something so much more. That Rasputin has had so many varied legends that all seem to intertwine at some point and that no one has decided to really explore his supposed powers of healing until now is pretty astonishing. I was worried when the boys had to decided to take this in a different direction but with the second issue into it’s new arc i’m more confident and intrigued than ever with with what they are doing here.
In this day and age it would seem near impossible for a man to have lived this long and gone unnoticed. After all we are now a society that thrives on instant gratification and have information available to us at the touch of a finger thanks to our phones, tablets and the like. So a man like Gregori should stick out like a sore thumb but he’s managed to be on the down low for quite some time. All that is about to change however.
Last issue a young woman, a reporter showed up at Gregori’s door and claimed she knew who he was. This issue picks up there and the story she has to tell well thankfully it kind of picks up in the past so we get some information on how he came to America. Now I love Riley and the way he works because seriously with Ivan’s help the then scenes take on a completely authentic camera’s were new and it’s all in this grainy black and white, turned sepia, photographic quality.
This was an absolutely delightful story that not only shows us the past but the characterization we get clearly shapes the man he’s become, I mean seeing him and that little blonde girl with those big blue eyes yeah that was a pretty special moment both in writing and visually. I love the way the past played out too it’s just mesmerizing to see it unfold and much of that is thanks to Riley because it’s the subtle things we see dictated by the story that really help tell the larger picture.
When we get back to the present we leave with what we opened with that dinner party where he was betrayed by his friends, poisoned, beaten the whole thing. So the pictures she shows him here really does rattle him and should greatly surprise the reader as well. It’s also one hell of a way to end the issue on such a dramatic note left ringing.
This really is among the best of the best point blank period. With such intense storytelling and high quality interiors you won’t find a more thought provoking and engaging series around.