Image Comics/Anomaly Productions/Shadowline 2019
Written by David Hine & Brian Haberlin
Illustrated by Brian Haberlin
Coloured by Geirrod Van Dyke
Lettered by Francis Takenaga
“PLAY IT SAFE, KILL ‘EM ALL!” Sonata continues her journey in the Southlands, where she encounters a naked madman and his imaginary lizard friend. Meanwhile, the other settlers are dealing with the havoc caused when a Sleeping Giant wakes.
This really does keep proving to be one of the more unique and interesting stories that have debuted this summer. Aside from the fact that Brian's interiors here are some of the absolute best in the business that is because honestly they are. The writing here is phenomenal and the way that we see the characters come to life through their dialogue, actions, interactions as well as how they react to the situations that arise.
The story & plot development and the character development that we see are woven together as closely as they are and how they constantly move forward with the pacing makes reading this such a pleasure. The way that characters are introduced are really very well done and I hope that we continue to meet these new and unusual individuals as the ones we've met continue to grow and evolve. Now if he's really naked why don't see more of him? I'd love to see if he's anatomically close to a human and if he comes from either of the races trying to make this their own or if he was here longer than them. With a lot of what we are seeing here I love the quasi Egyptian symbolism mixed with the Hellraiser imagery do wonders in engaging the readers' mind and imagination in going off script.
While Dr. Horrible is having his sing a long he really is getting on my nerves. Besides being ugly as sin and having a disposition to match he really doesn't understand that he's a guest on this world and just because he wants them to bow down to him these elder gods and the other races are far more advanced and intelligent then he'll ever realise. So the boys bring passion to the table here in more ways than one too because we see the passion of the characters who in turn make the reader passionate about hating the characters, or loving them depending on whom we're talking about.
I said it before I will say it again the interior artwork here is phenomenal. The linework is perfectly done and how the varying weights are utilised so they can create this level of attention to detail are mindbogglingly fantastic. The creativity and imagination that we see on the page is marvellous and the way that technology is shown and the variations that are on our own is interesting to see. The use may be a tad different as is it's form but that's half the fun. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this masterful eye for storytelling. Backgrounds baby they enhance the moments and bring us a nice sense of size and scope to the story. The colour work is beautiful and the way the shades and hues have these variations within them is expertly done. Plus the subtlety we see in the colouration of the native species well that just puts this in a class all it's own.
This story is beyond any and all genre expectations. We get the Science Fiction loud and clear, there is also this kind of medieval feel as the settlers arriving on this world have this archaeological Indiana Jones kind of vibe also occurring so yeah, I could keep going too because this is like the proverbial kitchen sink included and it just has this air about it that is undeniable. Beautifully written and illustrated this is one that will stay with you long after putting it down.