Zenescope Entertainment 2016
Written by Lou Iovino
Illustrated by Wilton Santos & Marc Rosete
Coloured by Hedwin Zaldivar, Ceci De La Cruz & Grostieta
Lettered by Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios
The world has become a dangerous place. Highborn's and monsters from the Realms of Power hide in plain sight. Now the world’s leaders are looking to exploit their powers for their own gain, using them as spies and assassins for covert missions. But the Highborn initiative is there to balance the scales with their own group of super powered spies. Led by Britney Waters, better known now as the Red Agent, her team travels the world battling the forces of evil that lurks in the shadowy world of espionage and secret intelligence.
One of the things that I like about this is that it really does pretty much pick up where the last mini-series left off. Also that the maxi-series is back! It’s nice to see that a twelve issue series is being offered again so we can actually have that time spent on getting all the intricate pieces of the puzzle into place and still tell that riveting story that puts Britney firmly in charge of her team and their place in the world.
Also the characterisation is something that Lou does really well. I like seeing this part of Britney who can go from a solo mission to caring about the welfare of her teammates. Ditto went through quite a bit the last time out so seeing some time spent on him here is nice and that he’s going to remain a focus for this run again pleases me. It will be interesting to see how what he has been through and his “origin” come into play turning him into the new being that Ditto is. I’m hoping that his continued evolution as a character remains as interesting and strong as we’re introduced to here.
I like the interior artwork here. There’s a lot going on and the use of page layouts through angles and perspective are well done. The use of backgrounds is great to see and how they influence how you feel when you see what’s going on. The creativity and imagination on display is wonderful to see, from Ditto to the Highborn’s and our main characters as well there’s a nice amount of detail in them.
This is a great premise and an exciting team that’s been assembled. There’s so much potential here that could tie this team into the rest of the books the company has done. We could see recurring characters or new team members from various walks of life and that kind of unlimited aspect makes for such an exciting future. Also that there’s this shadow organisation that’s working behind the scenes that will somehow, someday come into the light just adds another intrigue factor into all this.
Smart, intelligent writing from a strong concept and premise to exciting interior artwork Zenescope is well on the way into the arena of storytelling that makes you sit up and take notice.