The Picture of Everything Else #1
Vault Comics 2020
Written by Dan Watters
Illustrated by Kishore Mohan
Lettered by Aditya Bidikar
As the 20th century dawns, art promises to change the world...and steep it in blood. A rash of impossible killings sweep through Paris, tearing the rich and beautiful apart in their beds. When two art thieves stumble upon the portraits of the victims damaged in the exact same manner they died, it appears the man who once painted the immortal portrait of Dorian Gray has returned—with darker plans for future works.
My gut reaction to this was that it feels like this Hitchcockian the Barber of Seville meets Dorian Gray and I stick by that because this is another fine example of why I am one of Dan's staunchest supporters. Also I hadn't read the blurb when I thought of what this reminded me of so that comes across rather beautifully. The story itself is pure genius to me and how it is both presented and executed showcases the talent that Dan has in a way that when combined with Kishore’s interiors it takes us to a whole new level of psychological terror. I also have to commend Dan in showcasing the art world at this time in France shows the amount of homosexuality within its characters as it does. Usually we’ll see the innuendo and double speak of the characters but here it is all laid out on the table and it certainly makes for interesting bedfellows.
I am loving the way that this is 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 exceptionally well. How we are introduced to the characters through how the story unfolds as well kind of giving us this whole size and scope of the story being told is beyond what one should expect out of an introductory issue. The character development that we see is phenomenal and as we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter continuously fleshing them out it really is sublime work. The pacing here is amazing and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists & turns along the way we are treated to one of the most intriguing and interesting stories to come along in ages.
How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge I marvel at the complexity of the storytelling. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow is marvellous.
The interiors here really are rather quite stunning to see. I love the imagery and how the clothing of the era as well as how we see the composition within the panels being brought to us. There is something almost majestic and magical about what we are seeing, from the patterns in the rugs to the Doctor Who scarf the way the watercolour work is seen throughout everything has this ethereal quality to it that belies the subject matter. The detail work is exceptional and we see such attention as well as some ambiguity to the imagery is like this tight rope balancing act that makes Cirque Du Soleil look like kiddie jamboree. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is gorgeously rendered. Seriously folks the creativity and imagination on display here is sensational and to see the art within the art is beyond amazing.
Vault pushing the boundaries of the envelope so that it creates new ones with every turn of the page. Few publishing houses have made the immediate impact upon arrival that Vault has and by all the gods above and below I couldn’t be any happier to wholeheartedly be a supporter of them, their books and their creators.
Vault Comics 2020
Written by Dan Watters
Illustrated by Kishore Mohan
Lettered by Aditya Bidikar
As the 20th century dawns, art promises to change the world...and steep it in blood. A rash of impossible killings sweep through Paris, tearing the rich and beautiful apart in their beds. When two art thieves stumble upon the portraits of the victims damaged in the exact same manner they died, it appears the man who once painted the immortal portrait of Dorian Gray has returned—with darker plans for future works.
My gut reaction to this was that it feels like this Hitchcockian the Barber of Seville meets Dorian Gray and I stick by that because this is another fine example of why I am one of Dan's staunchest supporters. Also I hadn't read the blurb when I thought of what this reminded me of so that comes across rather beautifully. The story itself is pure genius to me and how it is both presented and executed showcases the talent that Dan has in a way that when combined with Kishore’s interiors it takes us to a whole new level of psychological terror. I also have to commend Dan in showcasing the art world at this time in France shows the amount of homosexuality within its characters as it does. Usually we’ll see the innuendo and double speak of the characters but here it is all laid out on the table and it certainly makes for interesting bedfellows.
I am loving the way that this is 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 exceptionally well. How we are introduced to the characters through how the story unfolds as well kind of giving us this whole size and scope of the story being told is beyond what one should expect out of an introductory issue. The character development that we see is phenomenal and as we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter continuously fleshing them out it really is sublime work. The pacing here is amazing and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists & turns along the way we are treated to one of the most intriguing and interesting stories to come along in ages.
How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge I marvel at the complexity of the storytelling. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow is marvellous.
The interiors here really are rather quite stunning to see. I love the imagery and how the clothing of the era as well as how we see the composition within the panels being brought to us. There is something almost majestic and magical about what we are seeing, from the patterns in the rugs to the Doctor Who scarf the way the watercolour work is seen throughout everything has this ethereal quality to it that belies the subject matter. The detail work is exceptional and we see such attention as well as some ambiguity to the imagery is like this tight rope balancing act that makes Cirque Du Soleil look like kiddie jamboree. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is gorgeously rendered. Seriously folks the creativity and imagination on display here is sensational and to see the art within the art is beyond amazing.
Vault pushing the boundaries of the envelope so that it creates new ones with every turn of the page. Few publishing houses have made the immediate impact upon arrival that Vault has and by all the gods above and below I couldn’t be any happier to wholeheartedly be a supporter of them, their books and their creators.
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