Southside #1
Advent Comics 2020
Created & Written by Tony Kittrell
Illustrated by Chepe Rios
Coloured by PH Fuller
Lettered by Lettersquids
The Side Pocket
This issue, Dalton Malone returns to the mean streets of Washington D.C. to find the murderer of his best friend.
Oh I enjoyed this a whole heck of a lot. Probably a lot more than I had thought I would and that is saying something. I am pretty impressed with this book and I have always enjoyed reading what Advent puts out but this is really something special. You don’t have to understand the slang to get what it means that’s for sure and regardless of race, sex, gender or age you will find ways to relate to this story. Another thing about it is that it most certainly reads like it’s a screen adaptation to a film. It has this amazing dynamic feel to it that once you start reading it you’ll be sucked in before you realise it and you won’t want it to let you go.
I am loving the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold and how the reader learns information is presented with exceptional skill. Okay at first I thought the structure at the beginning was a tad standard but by the time we went full circle and there were still surprises to see it was amazing. The story and book relies heavily on the main character, Malone, and how we see and view him. So it is no surprise that the character development we see is pretty flawless. It doesn’t matter what situations or circumstances he’s thrust into we see him, his facade, through his outer shell being as consistent as the tides. It is what lies underneath that I cannot wait to see explored. The pacing here is superb and as it takes through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way we see how everything works together to create the books ebb & flow.
My friends, Romans and countrymen or something like that heh this really is what comics are all about. This is a book that may feature a black man in the lead role but this isn’t about race or about society doing him wrong. This is a story about revenge, vengeance and putting a stop to anyone who does him wrong or gets in the way. It is a strong story told through many different layers and it’s an exceptional read.
The interiors here are extremely interesting. Part of me sees this 90’s Image style that runs prevalently throughout these pages and I am not sure if this is international or not but we see it. Then we see Chepe’s own style emerge throughout this as well. Once we start to see a different style start to emerge it makes me happy. The linework throughout is extremely well rendered and the way that the attention to detail is stupendous work. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a solid, strong eye for storytelling. I would like to see backgrounds utilised more because when we do see them they really add to the ambiance and scope of the story. There is some nice tricking of the eye where they aren’t seen but the illusion of them is. The colour work is fantastic and how we see some things pop and the subtlety of others show a real nice mastery over how to apply and effectively utilise colour. The hues and tones within the colours we see and how they are utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is really rather impressive.
I really rather like this a whole heck of a lot. I am impressed with the way that this is being told, how through the layering and through the introduction of characters we see Malone’s world take shape. I keep saying that you guys need to be reading books from small press-indie comics publishers and this for me is the best surprise read of the week hands down.
Advent Comics 2020
Created & Written by Tony Kittrell
Illustrated by Chepe Rios
Coloured by PH Fuller
Lettered by Lettersquids
The Side Pocket
This issue, Dalton Malone returns to the mean streets of Washington D.C. to find the murderer of his best friend.
Oh I enjoyed this a whole heck of a lot. Probably a lot more than I had thought I would and that is saying something. I am pretty impressed with this book and I have always enjoyed reading what Advent puts out but this is really something special. You don’t have to understand the slang to get what it means that’s for sure and regardless of race, sex, gender or age you will find ways to relate to this story. Another thing about it is that it most certainly reads like it’s a screen adaptation to a film. It has this amazing dynamic feel to it that once you start reading it you’ll be sucked in before you realise it and you won’t want it to let you go.
I am loving the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold and how the reader learns information is presented with exceptional skill. Okay at first I thought the structure at the beginning was a tad standard but by the time we went full circle and there were still surprises to see it was amazing. The story and book relies heavily on the main character, Malone, and how we see and view him. So it is no surprise that the character development we see is pretty flawless. It doesn’t matter what situations or circumstances he’s thrust into we see him, his facade, through his outer shell being as consistent as the tides. It is what lies underneath that I cannot wait to see explored. The pacing here is superb and as it takes through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way we see how everything works together to create the books ebb & flow.
My friends, Romans and countrymen or something like that heh this really is what comics are all about. This is a book that may feature a black man in the lead role but this isn’t about race or about society doing him wrong. This is a story about revenge, vengeance and putting a stop to anyone who does him wrong or gets in the way. It is a strong story told through many different layers and it’s an exceptional read.
The interiors here are extremely interesting. Part of me sees this 90’s Image style that runs prevalently throughout these pages and I am not sure if this is international or not but we see it. Then we see Chepe’s own style emerge throughout this as well. Once we start to see a different style start to emerge it makes me happy. The linework throughout is extremely well rendered and the way that the attention to detail is stupendous work. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a solid, strong eye for storytelling. I would like to see backgrounds utilised more because when we do see them they really add to the ambiance and scope of the story. There is some nice tricking of the eye where they aren’t seen but the illusion of them is. The colour work is fantastic and how we see some things pop and the subtlety of others show a real nice mastery over how to apply and effectively utilise colour. The hues and tones within the colours we see and how they are utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is really rather impressive.
I really rather like this a whole heck of a lot. I am impressed with the way that this is being told, how through the layering and through the introduction of characters we see Malone’s world take shape. I keep saying that you guys need to be reading books from small press-indie comics publishers and this for me is the best surprise read of the week hands down.
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