Sitcomics 2019
Written by Darin Henry
Pencilled by Ron Frenz
Inked by Sal Buscema, Scott Koblish & Joe Rubenstein
Coloured by Glenn Whitmore
Lettered by Marshall Dillon
The Peril of Professor Wrath!
It's the stunning second act of the sensational Professor Wrath saga! The stakes have never been higher but the Blue Baron has never sunk lower! Will he be able to get things back on track in time to rescue the teen superteam who wanted nothing to do with him?! Meanwhile Ernie has troubles of his own when he becomes the object of a schoolgirl's crush! You won't believe what happens in the pages of this all-new instant classic!
This is one of my favourite books, period. It is right up there with the original Teen Titans and the Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, oh and New Mutants, in terms of quality and level of the storytelling through words and pictures. This is classic comic book storytelling for a modern age. The complexity in the writing and the layering within the characters that we see keeps the reader on their toes. I love that this feels like a fresh new take on something familiar and that Darin really is able to maintain that fresh feeling throughout the entire run. For me this is what I kind of grew up reading so to see it done this way and bring those feelings back to me while still managing to stay in the present is a real godsend.
I am digging 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 laid out perfectly. I like that we see those instances of realisation that come out at the strangest moments that really have the impact that they do. Which of course leads us into the character development that we are seeing here. I like that both Ernie and the Baron each have some growing to do as they finally see themselves coping with the other's problems. The way that characters act and react to situations and the circumstances they encounter is that extra bonus level that really is shaping them into a better version of themselves. The pacing is fabulous and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it highlights how well the book is structured and how everything works together to create the ebb & flow of the story.
The interiors here are utterly gorgeous I mean seriously look at the talent of these creators. The linework is spectacular and the way that we see the varying weights being utilised to showcase the quality in the attention to detail is sensational. The backgrounds we see and the attention there is fabulous as it works within the composition of the panels to bring us this nice depth perception, a sense of scale and that overall size and scope of the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a masters eye for storytelling. The colour work is utterly gorgeous and the way we see the gradation in the hues and tones within the colours to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is perfection.
While the story is amazing and there is no questioning that, but with the interiors here we see this come to life in a way that mesmerises the reader. This is the fantasy and reality that we want to see in our comics and it's why some of us attend auctions to grab the slice of history that I see within these pages. This is a perfect example that you can do a modern day comic while keeping it firmly in the realm of silver and bronze age tales.