The Circus Vol.1
Markosia Enterprises 2019
Written by Joseph Browder
Illustrated by Juan Manuel Almirón
Lettered by Ian Sharman
When a young genius is assassinated, a group of humans with strange powers are blamed for the murder. On the run from the authorities, a secret society, and an ancient alien race, the group uncover an earth-shattering secret that could spell the end of mankind as we know it.
When I was sent this I honestly thought it was just a first issue, turns out it’s the four issue trade. So this was originally released in 2019 and the trade was released in 2020. I hadn’t even thought to check and as I was reading it took a while before I realised the fact that I had been reading for a while and decided to check. I adore the fact that this reads so well that I hadn’t noticed it was the trade until I had gotten through two issues which of course means the writing is just phenomenal. I love Markosia and the books they choose to do. It is really nice to know that there are houses such as this to turn to for good, strong, quality storytelling.
I am a huge fan of the way that this is told. The story & plot development that we see here through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is extremely well presented. How the events are tied together and how we see the introduction of the character as they move the story along is superbly done. The opening captures the readers’ mind through imagination and engages you to think beyond what it is you see. The character development we see is pretty interesting to me. I like individually each of them comes with their own separate baggage and yet together they form this band of misfit toys. The pacing is pretty amazing as i said because you’ll read this and you’ll get lost in the ebb & flow of the story and not even realise it.
I had wondered why on Earth the title here was The Circus? I won't tell you my conclusion but I will gladly tell you that once it became clear to me I had an even greater respect and understanding for why that is. I find little to no flaws in the way that this is written or if anything should have been done differently and for me and my eye to say this is saying something indeed.
The interiors here are interesting as well. There are times they shine like a diamond and at others are those lumps of coal waiting for the pressure. Now I am not terribly sure if this hand drawn or computer generated because I can see elements of both in play here. I say this because backgrounds are hit or miss. When they are there they hit like they’ve been tackled when we don’t see them it’s like a maul. I do like the character designs and how we see the faces and facial expressions not to mention the body language as it really does help to further the characterisation in ways words alone cannot do. There is some utilisation of the linework here and the attention to detail plus the creativity and imagination we see on display really take some moments over the top. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a marvellous eye for storytelling. The colour work is sensational. Not only is there some amazing hues and tones being utilised in the shading, highlights and shadow work we see but that the colour alone gives the trees, bushes and other areas the definition is nice to see. The understanding of how to utilise colour so effectively is beyond what I would’ve hoped for.
I am a huge fan of Markosia and they are among those who have carte blanche to send me anything and everything. I have yet to be disappointed. This book, of which you should order the trade, with its layers and sub-plots and life lessons to learn is something that is as entertaining as it is unique.
Markosia Enterprises 2019
Written by Joseph Browder
Illustrated by Juan Manuel Almirón
Lettered by Ian Sharman
When a young genius is assassinated, a group of humans with strange powers are blamed for the murder. On the run from the authorities, a secret society, and an ancient alien race, the group uncover an earth-shattering secret that could spell the end of mankind as we know it.
When I was sent this I honestly thought it was just a first issue, turns out it’s the four issue trade. So this was originally released in 2019 and the trade was released in 2020. I hadn’t even thought to check and as I was reading it took a while before I realised the fact that I had been reading for a while and decided to check. I adore the fact that this reads so well that I hadn’t noticed it was the trade until I had gotten through two issues which of course means the writing is just phenomenal. I love Markosia and the books they choose to do. It is really nice to know that there are houses such as this to turn to for good, strong, quality storytelling.
I am a huge fan of the way that this is told. The story & plot development that we see here through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is extremely well presented. How the events are tied together and how we see the introduction of the character as they move the story along is superbly done. The opening captures the readers’ mind through imagination and engages you to think beyond what it is you see. The character development we see is pretty interesting to me. I like individually each of them comes with their own separate baggage and yet together they form this band of misfit toys. The pacing is pretty amazing as i said because you’ll read this and you’ll get lost in the ebb & flow of the story and not even realise it.
I had wondered why on Earth the title here was The Circus? I won't tell you my conclusion but I will gladly tell you that once it became clear to me I had an even greater respect and understanding for why that is. I find little to no flaws in the way that this is written or if anything should have been done differently and for me and my eye to say this is saying something indeed.
The interiors here are interesting as well. There are times they shine like a diamond and at others are those lumps of coal waiting for the pressure. Now I am not terribly sure if this hand drawn or computer generated because I can see elements of both in play here. I say this because backgrounds are hit or miss. When they are there they hit like they’ve been tackled when we don’t see them it’s like a maul. I do like the character designs and how we see the faces and facial expressions not to mention the body language as it really does help to further the characterisation in ways words alone cannot do. There is some utilisation of the linework here and the attention to detail plus the creativity and imagination we see on display really take some moments over the top. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a marvellous eye for storytelling. The colour work is sensational. Not only is there some amazing hues and tones being utilised in the shading, highlights and shadow work we see but that the colour alone gives the trees, bushes and other areas the definition is nice to see. The understanding of how to utilise colour so effectively is beyond what I would’ve hoped for.
I am a huge fan of Markosia and they are among those who have carte blanche to send me anything and everything. I have yet to be disappointed. This book, of which you should order the trade, with its layers and sub-plots and life lessons to learn is something that is as entertaining as it is unique.
RSS Feed
