Aftershock Comics 2020
Created, Written & Lettered by John Layman
Created & Illustrated by Karl Mostert
Coloured by Dee Cunniffe
The armored Neanderthal foot-soldiers who serve the evil emperor Abraham Lincoln VI have orders to bring in time-traveling f#%&-up Sean Bennett dead or alive— and they choose dead! That’s right, we kill our lead character on page two of issue #3. So, uh...what’s next? Well, either a lotta blank pages…or a surprise twist so amazing YOU DARE NOT MISS THIS ISSUE!!! (Spoiler: It’s the latter.)
Okay this just keeps getting better and better with each issue. Granted that is exactly what is supposed to happen but some do it better than others as we see here. I like so many aspects of this story and the whole idea of the butterfly effect is on full display and it’s quite glorious. I am also loving how this whole idea of Sean having to fix the timeline he’s messed up when he has no idea what he’s doing. He is such a novice at this and that these Future Police have him charged with fixing what he’s done is killing me, softly with his word, because well I simply cannot tell you.
I am really enjoying the way that this is being told. There is something refreshing about the non-linear way that John has come up with to tell this tale and while I’m not totally it should work what I do see here borders on genius or mad genius depending on your point of view. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented beautifully. There is this great way in how this is being told and it isn’t until the end of the issue until you realise what is truly happening. Though in all honesty we should’ve seen this for ourselves a lot sooner but the whole idea of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing is true for a reason. The character development is phenomenal to see play out through these pages. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way we see how all of this works together to create the books ebb & flow.
The interiors here are utterly delightful as well. There is this really nice way that we see the linework and the varying weights and techniques utilised to show bring us the attention to detail. With the creativity and imagination that is on display here that linework becomes truly exquisite. While I do wish we’d get to see more backgrounds being utilised when we do see them, they really enhance the moments and beautifully present this depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkable eye for storytelling. The colour work is really well rendered. We see some varying techniques in how the colour is applied and the various hues and tones utilised within the colours to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is spectacular.
There are so many different surprises that occur throughout the issue and it is just mesmerising to see them come out of left field as they are choreographed ahead of time. This may be one of today’s most interesting and seemingly complex stories on stands today. I expect no less out of John however, as his storytelling usually finds itself way ahead of its time. What amazes me time and time again is the fact that John makes it all look so easy and effortless on his part. So once again I tell you Aftershock Comics is at the cutting edge of comics storytelling.