Blackhat Comics 2018
Written & Lettered by Adam Blackhat
Illustrated by Valentina Sannais
Solomon's Widow
Starfall begins with a funeral. Elly's beloved husband was brutally beaten to death, all evidence leads back to her, and the only option she has is to run. Life is never easy for a superhero. Exonerating herself will be difficult, battling gods, monsters, and her alternate evil cyborg self all the more so, but at least she can rely on her perturbed ex, her elderly in-laws, and Destiny to set things right.
So if you go to Comixology at all then you should really check this one out, that’s how I found it. I am rather happy I did to, after all they have suggestions for books you might like and it’s a great way to find those indie/self-published books that I am always raving about and suggesting that you find. The cover is what caught my attention then checking out the pages they offer pretty much sealed the deal in me wanting to find out more about this.
Adam writes a very interesting story here. While it feels like he is still finding his way when it comes to structuring the story, we do tend to jump around a bit without really knowing why, that doesn’t detract from enjoying it. Also if this is him learning then I cannot wait to see what happens when gets stronger because then he could be near unstoppable. The opening grabs your attention right off the bat as we see these heroes in battle and more so Elly’s involvement in that with her husband. The scene is dynamic, interesting and full of life and then there is one moment that catches you off guard and that is the moment you need to know what’s going on here.
The funeral for Elly’s husband Solomon is a place where the public comes to mourn. Led by the President of the United States and with his fellow heroes and teammates speaking about their memories we see that there are a few things in play that are going to make this as much of a murder mystery as anything else. That fact along with how we are introduced to the players in this book are going to enhance the intrigue factor to the point where you will find yourself dying to figure out the truth about what really happened.
I must say Valentina’s work on the interiors here is something incredibly special. This is my introduction to her work as well and I have to say I admire the amount of talent she has. The linework here is phenomenal and the faces and facial expressions really expand the characterisation that we see in the writing. The fact that she does all the work on the interiors is another thing to admire so that the light sources and the way we see shading and colour gradation is marvellous. Also the colour scheme itself when it comes to these outfits is stunning to see. I love the way that the body’s look normal as if these are real people so the positions in say landing from flying are shown exceptionally well. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a stupendous eye for storytelling. Now as a huge proponent of utilising backgrounds what we see is nicely done in how it expands the moments and brings a size and scope to the book.
With the strength of the story & plot development and how we see the pacing and the character development, see characterisation, makes this one hell of an interesting debut for a series. That we meet villains as well as heroes, sometimes the two are indiscriminate by the way, and everyone regardless of what side of the law they are on get the same treatment is fantastic. While I am not sure who to root for and who’s to blame as of yet I do know that Adam and Valentina are creating a book that you are going to enjoy.
They can be found on Comixology, Facebook and here, http://www.starfallwebcomic.com/ do yourself a favour and check em out and support good, strong comics creators!