Marvel Comics 2020
Written by Frank Tieri
Illustrated by Angel Unzueta
Coloured by Rachelle Rosenberg & Dono Sanchez-Almara
Lettered by VC's Joe Sabino
RAVENCROFT REOPENED!
After the hellish horrors of ABSOLUTE CARNAGE, the Ravencroft Institute has received a much-needed facelift and is open for business with a new staff, including JOHN JAMESON, looking to atone for the part he played in ABSOLUTE CARNAGE. But will Ravencroft return the mentally unstable villains of the Marvel Universe to upstanding citizens and give John the redemption he’s looking for, or will they fall prey to the hospital’s seemingly sinister nature?
I hadn't thought that this was going to be something for me. Frank is the writer so I had to take a look as I am a fan of his work. What hooked me here was seeing Misty and once I saw her I knew I had to have this, and no I am not reading any of the obligatory tie-ins nor did I read that Carnage mischegas so for me this is new in every respect. So now that I have had a good chance to go through the book a couple times I find myself attracted to it because of not only who is in it but also because of the overall premise.
I love how this is being told. The opening with Misty is perfectly done and how we see the explanation of what is happening here could not have been any clearer for those of us who didn't read the whole Carnage saga. This is what I love about Frank's ability to craft a story, it is like we are getting in on the ground floor of something that has already been fully established. The story & plot development that we see through the sequence of events unfolding as well as how the reader learns information is flawlessly executed. The character development is amazingly strong and how we learn about the characters through their dialogue, narration as well as how they act and react to situations is extremely telling. The pacing here is excellent and as it takes through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way help to create this really tight ebb & flow to the book.
I get that these are established characters and I get that we've seen over a million different takes on them but with Misty here mixed in with what she's currently about one thing is sure and that is we are going to see a lot of fighting. Whether she's known for her role behind the computer or on the streets this is one woman who's potential is far from being tapped.
The interiors here are actually extremely interesting to me. Though I will say right off the bat Angel needs to work and figure what is going on with Misty's hair. It has the shape of an afro yet the styling of the sixties and it looks weird all over the place. Otherwise the linework we see is nicely done and there is this great display of creativity and imagination that we see, the opening with all the blues or the freak in his tube all the way to the things that live below this is where things shine. Consistency needs work as John at the meeting and John walking into the meeting don't look like the same man as he went from muscular to skinny or emaciated looking the course of a day. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a decent eye for storytelling. The colour work here is exquisite and saves a lot of moments. There is some incredible utilisation of colour and how we see the various hues and tones within them creating the shading, highlights and shadows here. Those blues in the holographic mode, you wanna talk about stunning!
This story has everything you could possibly want in it. It has shadowy organisations that deeper than any black ops out there, it has literally inmates who have conquered the asylum and personal drama galore. The way Frank weaves all these together is beautiful to see and with his mind and his talent this is going to be the one to watch folks, mark my words.