Joe Books Ltd. 2016
Written by Sarah Spillane & Jay Firestone
Scripted by Rik Hoskin
Illustrated by German Ponce
Coloured by Mohan
Lettered & Designed by Bill Tortolini
Ducati-driving law student Skylar Moore is the daughter of Joseph Moore, an alleged assassin from The Enterprise, a dangerous organization operating outside of society and outside of the law. But when Joseph is put on trial for murder, Skylar learns he is still indebted to the all-powerful Enterprise - and that there's more to her father's story.
This is a strong and powerful first issue. The introduction to Skylar and her world is laid out beautifully. The things we know here are that Skylar’s dad isn’t the greatest of men but he’s one hell of a father. She’s pretty much a loner and wants nothing to do with her dad’s employer or associates. She’s a student, teacher and strong willed and capable young woman who makes for a very inspiring lead character.
German and Mohan do some really solid detailed interior work here. The attention to detail is astounding and the use of angles, perspective and the use of backgrounds here really help control the flow of the story through page layouts in such a strong way. The emotion that the work evokes is nicely readable and keeps your attention rapt to the story at hand. Each character has this great individual unique look to them and the faces and their expressions stand out nicely. This is some extremely impressive work here folks.
The story that introduces us to Skylar showcases two sides to her. One the doting daughter who watches her father being putting in the California Prison system for life without the possibility of parole where she breaks down and acts like someone’s child and that strong confident and extremely intelligent teacher’s aide who can teach a college class while still being a student herself. The complexity of that dichotomy isn’t lost on the reader and it makes her feel and come across completely real and relatable to.
While we don’t get as much time spent on a few other character that introduced we are given enough to see where things are heading. Her father’s boss has taken an interest in her now and the cops who are trying to bust the Enterprise gang and their leader/don, Frank, are shown but the characterisation is mainly through actions and set-up not really direct at this time. Which is fine because it’s just enough that you “know” what they are about and yet still want to learn more and see just where they think they going with Skylar.
With the use of flashbacks to go alongside with what we see in the present the story is fleshed out incredibly well. The flow, pacing and characterisation here is really strong and draws you in with it’s premise and storytelling. Heck the premise isn’t even clear yet but there’s this mystery action thriller vibe to what we get that leaves you wanting more. This is going to be a surprise hit for everyone who reads it so contact your local shoppe or contact your subscription service and order a copy, it’s available through Diamond, or if you like to read digitally it’s on Comixology so either way this is a highly promising new series with some high quality storytelling.