Atomic Tiki Studio 2019
Written & Lettered by Steve Bryant
Illustrated by Ismael Canales
Coloured by Roger Surroca
When super-villains like Galactoid, Dron the Conqueror, or Professor Kill are defeated, they're sent to a government maximum security facility. But what about small-timers like Phileas Frost, The Grappler, or the random jump-suited agents of H.A.R.M.? What happens to the bank robbers, jewel thieves, and anonymous henchmen? They post bail. And sometimes, they skip town afterwards. That's where Lucy Chase comes in. Keeping super-powered lowlifes in line is a dangerous job; especially when you don't have super-powers yourself. Bounty hunters who specialize in supers are few and far between, keeping Lucy in high demand.
This is all kinds of fun. The concept alone is great a non-powered super-villain bounty hunter for bail jumpers is something few could or would ever think of. The opening here is fantastic and it gives the reader their first look at the mood, tone and feel of the series as well as our introduction to Lucy and Jack. Now Jack isn't a bounty hunter but he is a Deputy Marshall and has toys that Lucy doesn't have access to. Plus if I am reading this correctly a bit of a crush on Lucy as well. This may be an introductory issue but it feels like so much more than that to me and Steve really doesn't waste any time in getting things up and running.
I am a huge fan of the way that this I being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented in a way that is as entertaining as it is informative. The character development we see is phenomenal and I like how we get these looks at the characters as if they are fully formed and we are just getting to know those personalities. This really feels like an established world that has finally opened it's doors to us and like birthday present with a big bow waiting to be unwrapped it gives off that kind of excitement. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story as it goes along, there aren't many twists and turns as it's pretty straightforward well until the ending. All of this works together to create a really good ebb & flow making this feel as if it's kind of like Cameron Chase, with dysfunctional family, as a freelancing bounty hunter.
The interiors here are really fantastic. The linework we see it mindbogglingly exquisite and how the varying weights are utilised to showcase the level and quality of the attention to detail is truly stunning. This is beyond top quality work here people, it's the kind of work that makes us wish everything we read was this well rendered. The character designs are utterly brilliant and I am sorry but Phileas is a dream come true in the uniqueness department as well as what we see of how he utilises his abilities. The way backgrounds are utilised and how they work within the composition in the panels show depth perception, scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story rather brilliantly. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this masterful eye for storytelling. Now the colour work we see is just as brilliant. To see the ice chariot, steampunk version and all, in the colour scheme works perfectly. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is beautifully done. Plus I really like the shading/shadows in the flesh tones that also work in defining parts of the body.
These are phenomenal characters and hell even I have a crush on Jack at this point and how we see their complicated histories with each other is really well thought out. The writing here is bloody well brilliant to see in how it manoeuvrers through the book with the layering and complexities. This is the kind of book that you expect to see out of a major company and that it was funded on kickstarter is both a joy and a shame. Folks you really need to find a way to get a hold of one of these and future issues in the series that come out, you might just find yourself swearing off the big guys in favour of The Catch!