Aftershock Comics 2017
Created & Written by Adam Glass
Illustrated by Dennis Calero
Coloured by Adriano Augusto
Lettered by Corey Breen
Okay so we all know with his current hit series Rough Riders and with five years of writing Supernatural Adam’s one of those guys whose work will entertain, thrill and bring you to the edge of your seat with anticipation. So who are the Normals? Your everyday average ordinary family of four, father, mother, daughter and son who just happen to have the last name Normal making them the Normals.
I’m not going to spoil this but I have to say for me this was akin to watching an episode of the Twilight Zone. The way that Adam set up, see structured, this story to unfold is astounding to me. Okay i’m not thrilled with the choice of song he uses to open up with but hey we all have those artists and quirky tunes that represent our youth right but in any case it works really well. So welcome to the show enjoy the view.
I have to say i’m pretty impressed with how well normal this family appears. It’s the whole white picket fence dream come true at least on the surface. There are plenty of clues that something is amiss but you don’t look for those, we aren’t trained to. Instead we see what’s in front of us and miss those things that are blatantly obvious or at least should be. Instead we see what Adam wants us to until that moment when that one instant is revealed and suddenly it’s like those pieces of the puzzle start falling into place. That my friends is the kind of man Adam is and the kind of skill he possesses.
Dennis and Adriano bring a unique look and feel to this book. I’m used to a more detailed look and feel but here’s it is almost abstract. As if the whole thing is dreamlike or more open for interpretation than I thought we’d get. It’s nice though i’m not a big fan of the panels with the coloured backgrounds i’d rather they were filled in with actual backgrounds. After all when actual backgrounds are used the panels have so much more life and power to them. Though the way that angles and perspective are utilised on the page layouts the flow of the story is great.
So once we see the instant that changes everything things start moving fast and furious. I love the interaction between the parents and when it all starts. I have no idea if Adam’s married or just has this idea of what your average married couple is like but for me it’s kind of a slice of Americana. Everything you think it should be, not only that but Josephine’s friend, the fluid one, what we see really is almost a modern day Happy Days. it’s almost scary enough in it’s own right being that “normal” in this day and age. So when things go off the rails it’s not surprising that I find myself more comfortable with the way things go.
Do yourself a favour find this book. Fans of psychological thrillers are going to eat this one alive and for those of you wanting to try something different Aftershock’s the place to be.