Boom! Studios 2019
Written by James Tynion IV
Illustrated by Werther Dell'Edra
Coloured by Miquel Muerto
Lettered by AndWorld Design
Things in Archer’s Peak are only growing worse. Erica Slaughter is on the hunt, but the children are still dying. Angry and afraid, the inhabitants turn their suspicions on the stranger in their midst, the woman who arrived just as the killings began. Will Erica be able to save the town, or will the very people she is trying to protect turn on her?
This is what I love about James writing, he never lets you think you know what is going on here. Erica's role in this is to stop the killings that much we know but the whole time she's at the jail with the Sheriff the way we see the dialogue is extraordinarily well done. I mean there's a whole lot said while nothing is really said at all and it's this that draws me to his writing. The exchanges they have and the way everything between is laid out if utterly brilliant to see on paper it's just that matter of fact simple.
The story & plot development that we see through the sequence of events unfolding and how the reader is given information is exceptionally well done. The entire time we are reading this everything that we see feels as if it's right, normal or natural in how they occur and this is beautiful to see. The character development is phenomenal to see. How the situations that the characters find themselves in and how they react to that helps to define them and keep their evolution moving ever forward. With the pacing here, which is sublime, we see how the twists and turns give the book this unique ebb & flow. There is a way to tell this near slice of life way of storytelling that feels like a day in the life as the story needs room to grow and James does that beautifully here.
The opening here is fantastic! It has everything it would need to grab the readers' attention, draw them in and leave them wanting to know more. Then of course there is what will become infamously known around the business as the interrogation scene that is one of if not THE best scenes in comicdom. Now if you think I say this lightly or that my opinion is skewed or somehow misplaced on that, you clearly haven't read it because once you do you'll understand, so say we all.
Werther's work on the interiors is just perfectly done. His linework is nicely laid down and we do see this nice utilisation of the varying weights to bring some attention to detail. This issue it's really his utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in them that really blows me away. These two-page spreads and how the panels are done with the conversational stuff just show is the beautiful eye for storytelling. Just the way he manages to utilise the story to flow through him and onto the pages like it spoke to him and said this is how it needs to be seen, granted it might not be that but in my minds eye it is. I am a fan of the colour work we see here as well. The scenes in different settings have different moods and tones to them thanks to the lighting or overall essence of what it's about and the colours mimic and set those perfectly.
Overall there is just something that mesmerises the reader so acutely that it's eerie. James is a stupendous writer and he's got this talent that seems to ooze into every project he works on and it's always a damn good time.