Image Comics 2016
Written by Mark Millar
Penciled by Greg Capullo
Inked by Jonathan Glapion
Coloured by FCO Plascencia
Lettered/Designed by Nate Piekos of Blambot
I would be lying if I didn’t say how intrigued I am by how this issue plays out. Bonnie just gets to this strange new world finds her father, who’s quite the “Daddy”, and already he’s ushering her in to be this lands saviour. Now i’m not all that up to snuff on a lot of things but this is kind of creepy that he’s not giving her time to think, adjust or get used to her new reality instead he’s all ready and raring to go against their enemy now that she’s here. Something about this just doesn’t seem to Kosher to me and I’ll be keeping an eye on it.
Part of this reminds me of Riverworld, Syfy movie 2010 look it up, and i’m not mad at that at all as the rest doesn’t really fit any pattern other than good versus evil. It’s almost like a fairy tale for Bonnie to be reunited with so many people from her past, though her mother and her husband are absent so far. We know Harry made it we saw that in the beginning of the first issue so where he is is indeed a mystery.
Greg, Jonathan and Plascencia do so exquisite work on the interiors. Greg’s imagination however steals the spotlight for me. The way he brings this landscape to life, the use of so many different styles of architecture represented and then that city in the tree all of it in such vivid detail really make this such a huge pleasure to behold. The use of page layouts through angles, perspective and those backgrounds really bring this alive in ways that sweep you up through the looking glass into a land of enchantment.
So Bonnie convinces her father that she wants a month to look for her husband before she accepts her role as saviour. This gives Mark a little time so he can explore this wondrous new land for us. Seeing old friends encountering those who will be her enemies and all in the hopes of taking some time to let this sink in and let herself believe that she’s worthy of all this that has been heaped upon her. It’ll be interesting to watch her characterisation change and evolve over the course of this story. From meek and shy to bold and strong she’ll have to overcome the council of her father and his attempts to rush her along if she’s going to figure all this out on her own.
Lord Golgotha and his minions that we’ve seen so far haven’t represented those people who lived bad lives yet. Though I have to admit seeing the cat whose testicles she removed when he was nine months old feeling hurt and betrayed well that’s a nice touch. I’m looking forward to seeing more of those who are deemed as bad people and creatures who follow Lord Golgotha.
The pacing and story development here are extremely well done and it feels like a departure from what Mark’s been doing. It’s a delightful expedition into a possible world where we go when we die on the Earthly plane. Unique with touches of the familiar it’s well crafted book that holds great promise.