Absolute Comics Group 2021
Created & Written by George Michail
Illustrated by Vinz El Tabanas
Lettered by Ed Dukeshire
Jolanda O'Bryne had it all... a loving husband, a great career as a Judo instructor, and a heart for helping others. It was that heart that led her to Cambodia where she sought to help clear mines to save children from death and ruin. Unfortunately, when she accidentally tripped one of the mines, she must now discover just how resilient she can be.
What a phenomenal first introductory issue. I will say I was a mite surprised by the use of the “then & now” storytelling being utilised as much as it was/is. Thankfully it is done extremely well so that it doesn’t detract from the overall story at all and it’s still extremely easy to follow along. It is also the beginning of a great origin story as I find it to be endearing, relatable to and the characters are such that either you know them or know of them and that’s a great thing to see. I read this at least three times in a row before sitting down to write this because not only was that a way to get my thoughts in order but it is just that good and I really enjoyed reading this.
I’m a fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceedingly well. The character development we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter do wonders in establishing their baseline personalities. This will change as the story continues of course but so far we see the aspects of them that we need to see right now. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, introducing the characters and the world they live in, getting us to care about them.
I appreciate the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge and grow. Within these layers lay the characterisation, the plot twists and more and all of these things add such depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is extremely well done.
The interiors here are exceptionally well rendered. They look like high quality computer generated work as well and I’m really digging that. The linework is fantastic and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality of detail work throughout the book is absolutely stunning. How we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance and expand the moments as well as how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is rather magnificently well rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The colour work that we see sets the mood, tone and feel for the story at any given moment exceptionally well. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows such a marvellous understanding of how colour works.
I love how many different avenues have been opened up here. From the boys to the one's uncle to Jolanda and her husband along with everyone else they all have these moments that add a little something to the story that would be missed if they weren’t there. With some strong intelligent writing and some sharp powerful characterisation which is wrapped up in these brilliantly rendered interiors really makes for one hell of a great start to a series and one I cannot wait to see more of.