Shang #1
Zenescope Entertainment 2020
Written by Nick Bermel
Illustrated by Daniel Mainé
Coloured by Grostieta & Maxflan Araujo
Lettered by Carlos M. Mangual
PART 1 OF 3
Before Shang was the mentor to the Guardian of the Nexus, bear witness as his past is finally revealed! The war for the Imperial throne is coming to an end. Shang, the last of his dynasty, seemed nearly invincible until a new general was chosen to lead the Imperial army. As these two strong forces race towards their inevitable clash, sinister forces plot to defeat them both.
I love this for a number of reasons but chiefly among those is that it features a MAN! Zenescope has made it's name on T & A sure but it's become so much more than that so to see a series based on a male character is phenomenal! It isn't' only that this features Shang but it also introduces us to another character who makes their Zenescope debut here. The creativity and imagination in the creation of this historical fiction is something Nick has accomplished with such aplomb.
I like the way that this is being told. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is really rather well presented. There are plenty of those moments you don't expect to see and the revelations are rather welcome as it fools you until they happen. The character development here is really quite interesting. When you go through the story and more layers to the characters are revealed things get more and more interesting and complicated which is precisely the kind of layering that we want to see. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it works with everything else to create this really dynamic ebb & flow for the book. It also highlights the way the book is structured and helps you appreciate the talent Nick has as a storyteller.
I am enjoying this a whole lot more than I had originally anticipated, which of course I was already expecting a lot. There is something about historical fiction as a genre that we don't really see in comics, though you could argue the whole medium is exactly that, which just really kind makes this more interesting. There have been so many dynasties in that region and so warring between them that this could have taken place at any time back then and it's that kind of engagement into the story that I like to see the writer lead the reader into doing.
I am a fan of the interior artwork here. The linework is bloody amazing and how we see the varying weights utilised to bring out the attention to detail is so well rendered. It isn't only in the characters, whose posture and the way the hold themselves is phenomenal, but the detail we see in the backgrounds as well is something special. The distance makes those lines seem softer and less in focus and that's not an easy to feat to accomplish. The way the backgrounds work within the composition in the panels bring some great depth perception, scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the book. The utilisation of the page layout and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a strong, talented eye for storytelling. The colour work we see here is really nice as well. The way that the multitude of hues and tones within the colours are utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is beautifully rendered.
This is a stunning book my friends. There is intrigue, battles, romance and action all set in a time where honour and your name spoke volumes. I am thrilled with the way that this book is being done from top to bottom, the writing, interiors and the lettering work in concert with each other to showcase why Zenescope sneakily got into real super-hero style comics!
Zenescope Entertainment 2020
Written by Nick Bermel
Illustrated by Daniel Mainé
Coloured by Grostieta & Maxflan Araujo
Lettered by Carlos M. Mangual
PART 1 OF 3
Before Shang was the mentor to the Guardian of the Nexus, bear witness as his past is finally revealed! The war for the Imperial throne is coming to an end. Shang, the last of his dynasty, seemed nearly invincible until a new general was chosen to lead the Imperial army. As these two strong forces race towards their inevitable clash, sinister forces plot to defeat them both.
I love this for a number of reasons but chiefly among those is that it features a MAN! Zenescope has made it's name on T & A sure but it's become so much more than that so to see a series based on a male character is phenomenal! It isn't' only that this features Shang but it also introduces us to another character who makes their Zenescope debut here. The creativity and imagination in the creation of this historical fiction is something Nick has accomplished with such aplomb.
I like the way that this is being told. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is really rather well presented. There are plenty of those moments you don't expect to see and the revelations are rather welcome as it fools you until they happen. The character development here is really quite interesting. When you go through the story and more layers to the characters are revealed things get more and more interesting and complicated which is precisely the kind of layering that we want to see. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it works with everything else to create this really dynamic ebb & flow for the book. It also highlights the way the book is structured and helps you appreciate the talent Nick has as a storyteller.
I am enjoying this a whole lot more than I had originally anticipated, which of course I was already expecting a lot. There is something about historical fiction as a genre that we don't really see in comics, though you could argue the whole medium is exactly that, which just really kind makes this more interesting. There have been so many dynasties in that region and so warring between them that this could have taken place at any time back then and it's that kind of engagement into the story that I like to see the writer lead the reader into doing.
I am a fan of the interior artwork here. The linework is bloody amazing and how we see the varying weights utilised to bring out the attention to detail is so well rendered. It isn't only in the characters, whose posture and the way the hold themselves is phenomenal, but the detail we see in the backgrounds as well is something special. The distance makes those lines seem softer and less in focus and that's not an easy to feat to accomplish. The way the backgrounds work within the composition in the panels bring some great depth perception, scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the book. The utilisation of the page layout and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a strong, talented eye for storytelling. The colour work we see here is really nice as well. The way that the multitude of hues and tones within the colours are utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is beautifully rendered.
This is a stunning book my friends. There is intrigue, battles, romance and action all set in a time where honour and your name spoke volumes. I am thrilled with the way that this book is being done from top to bottom, the writing, interiors and the lettering work in concert with each other to showcase why Zenescope sneakily got into real super-hero style comics!
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