Markosia 2019
By Ezequiel Rubio
For a young man his teenage years are a journey of discovery and wonder. However, for Noah Whitman his journey just hit a dead end. Mom has moved them to Dellwood, Wisconsin. And nothing happens in Dellwood. Right? The authorities would be inclined to agree, if it wasn't for the recent spate of mysterious occurrences that seem to lead back to that sleepy town. Now, as Noah eases into school life, he meets the feisty Zoe, and Hawk, a teenage boy on his own journey of discovery: one that could benefit mankind... or destroy it.
Well I am so glad I check more than one source or I think I'd have missed this issue. So take a page out of my book and check this one out too because damn is this good. Now we all know the story of the boy who came to earth and gained powers far beyond those of mortal men. Now I have no idea if Hawk fall into that category or not but he certainly has some of the qualities that's for damn sure. It's also something that I look forward to learning whether I'm close or Antarctica far off.
I like the way that this book is being told and how it's structured. The way we see the story & plot development and the character development so entwined with each other is extremely well done. Just that we see how there incredibly natural ebb & flow to the story with what we see, learn and how we meet and experience things alongside the characters. No a fair bit of this is thanks to the pacing and the way that this moves everything forward and it does such a lovely job. The characterisation is immensely important to how we see the characters and understand their roles in the story and I am thoroughly enjoy the way we see it.
So looking at this for the first time and seeing how the opening here takes shape it certainly feels like an Atypical 80's movie that stars a boy either entering or shortly into puberty. Whom also happens to look annoyingly familiar. But will say this much aside from the introduction of Noah who acts kind of like a catalyst for the story in bringing him, Hawk and Zoe together we see Hawk and just what makes this sad, lonely young boy tick in a sense. I like how all of this draws the reader in and makes them want to see, learn and know more.
The interiors here really are gorgeous and I like how we see the characters in this. That they all have their own unique looks to them is a huge bonus and while part of me thinks oh Noah looks familiar in that generic kind of way, the girl a ginger is a little typical and Hawk being blonde well he's the River Phoenix of the group. Trust me you'll see what I mean. Still the linework is superbly done and how we see the varying weights create the attention to detail is stunning and I will be damned if it doesn't almost look like real people were utilised as models for them. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a strong eye for storytelling. The utilisation of backgrounds to enhance the moments and bring a sense of size and scope to the book is nicely done. The colour work is also extremely nice to see and how light sources are utilised so that we see various hues and tones within colours to create the shading and shadows is stunning.
I love this, this is so much stronger than what we normally see any further in the industry, at least from most mainstream outfits. The premise feels strong and well thought out and so incredibly well executed. It has that whole government looking for a kid with powers and said kid making his best friends and show whatever comes next it's the ultimate 80's film montage in comics form and you ABSOLUTELY NEED this in your life.