Zenescope Entertainment 2019
Written by Howard Mackie
Illustrated by Babisu Kourtis
Coloured by Juan Manuel Rodriguez
Lettered by Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios
Who can Robyn trust?
Cornered and with nowhere else to turn, Robyn is on the run for a crime she did not commit. She will need to sink into the depths of the city's underground in order to try and clear her name while getting her hands a little dirtier than she hoped to save her friend's life.
So the fact that we are seeing the Zenescope Universe expanding so that we are introduced to folks who don’t fit into the normal High Ones mentality is sensational to see. This Tatter that we meet takes Robyn on a journey that she isn’t expecting nor would she have thought possible. So yes we’ve met all manner of creature that lives in the city over the course of Robyn’s life in New York City and a few Secret Societies as well but, this is something new.
Her mysterious new nemesis is one we’ve somewhat been introduced to before if I am not mistaken. She has vowed to destroy Robyn and at the time as I saw it intended to use her own methods against her. Could it finally be time for her to come face to face with someone who has used proxy’s in the past? I can use supposition all I want but the only way I'll ever know for certain is to keep reading this story arc. I love the way that we as the reader are being drawn into this. The writing has been exceptional as is the way the book is structured. We get this fantastic ebb & flow to the story as different plot point are addressed and new ones arise.
Equally as impressive is the characterisation here. Not just for Robyn either though I have to say that seeing her with a more adult attitude and outlook has been a refreshing change of pace. No everyone we meet here is someone’s whose personality shines brightly even in the dark. Tatter for instance I cannot say anything regarding her upbringing but it is slightly evident that she is either only slightly educated or is somewhere in the autism spectrum. Also that the cops or folks at the hospital act like they should with the evidence that has been presented is another added bonus to the equation.
The interiors here are utterly marvellous! I am an admirer of Babisu’s work and how he utilises the varying weights in the linework to create such nice attention to detail. Whether it’s the brick work in the backgrounds of the buildings to the camo pattern in her outfit or in just bringing people to life all of it is almost meticulous in its appearance. Then there is also the colour work that we see from Juan Manuel at play. The way highlights and shading are utilised throughout is exceptionally well done and I am just blown away impressed with how he brings Emmet to light yeah that’s just wow. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a stellar eye for storytelling. Also the way backgrounds are utilised enhance the moments we see them, I wish some additional panels were utilised as well, and bring us a nice size and scope to the book.
One of the things about this that really took me by surprise was the direction the story takes this issue. I wasn’t expecting it, any more than Robyn was, and now that I have seen it a few dozen times I can’t help but think just how bloody genius it all is. This is what I love about Zenescope and their moving forward with their attention to real storytelling instead of relying on the sexiness of it’s characters. This is something that is worth reading and shows us what GA used to be like and could be again, but why worry about him when we have Robyn?