Image Comics 2017
Written by Sean Lewis
Illustrated by Hayden Sherman
Well hell I have to say this is what I love about reading books I haven’t known about. Sean has created this future world where the states have fallen and the world is much different than the one we know. Not really post apocalyptic but close enough and in this world villages or towns are run by despots, madmen who thrive on power and control. Bloody, violent and confrontational living in these communities isn’t easy and can change based on a whim.
Impressive doesn’t begin to describe how I felt reading this. I love the symbiotic relationship between Sean and Hayden here. Words are few and far between to start things off it’s all really visual and yet the story is compelling and gripping nonetheless. You want to know about this world, about Hale and what her story is. In what looks like a dead forest in the middle of winter is how we’re introduced to this series and it’s got that spookiness and cryptic feeling that immediately catches your attention.
As events unfold between now and the immediate past we begin to see why she’s on the run and why they are chasing her. We see how the people here live and die. While we don’t get a why the world is this way that isn’t really all that important what is is the fact that we’re in the here and now and what is presented to us is something that we cannot turn away from.
While the story itself is intriguing much of the success off the bat goes to Hayden. His use of page layouts through angles, perspective and the lack of backgrounds making this such a cold stark world really bring the reader in. The black and white interiors with splashes of red for colour are dramatic and stunningly placed. His ability to bring the imagery to life and what we see not only pushes you further into the story but is haunting and beautiful. There’s so much emotion and feeling that come from the pages it’s really something to see.
This is a wonderful introduction to the series. We see what Hale has to go through, we’re introduced to the world she lives in and the new reality she faces. The cast of characters is not set but only starting to emerge and they are as intriguing as she is. The characterisation here is incredibly well done and with so much there and as much left unexplored we are left wondering about so much that there’s no question about returning. It’s guaranteed we’ll come back to see what’s going to happen next after this issue you’ll be too invested not to.
Bold, daring and it’s desolation haunting this is a journey that once you start you have to finish taking.