The Plot #4
Vault Comics 2019
Written by Tim Daniel & Michael Moreci
Illustrated by Joshua Hixson
Coloured by Jordan Boyd
Lettered by Jim Campbell
The cold, ashen hands of what once was reach into the now… and give a little push.
So I don't know how long this series is going to go but I will say this right here and right now I want it to go on as long as humanly possible. I feel like we are just getting started here and as the players in this little drama keep finding themselves embroiled further and further into the madness that surrounds them. The boys and their storytelling here is utterly mindbogglingly good and I just find myself more and more impressed with each new issue. As this continues to unfold I keep seeing elements of classic films of which I can see their influence in this. Also the fact that we never really see anything happen, death or dismemberment, and instead in the tradition of Hitchcock letting it all happen off page so the readers' own mind takes over is far and away one of the most brilliant tactics ever to be employed.
I love the opening here. Reese relating to Magnus her first kiss and his reaction sums up everything we'll ever need to know about him as a man. I don't care that he's Sheriff and what is issues are as they are all not relevant to anything else that happens. He is the kind of man who wants things his way, he won't see anything outside his opinion and I hate these kinds of men. Hate may be a strong word but that's okay because we all need someone to hate. Magnus will do anything he wants to to be rid of Chase rather than believe what is in front of his nose and every good story needs that villain. That we've got some kind of supernatural craziness is the crux of the story sure but it's how the humans react to it that matters.
The story & plot development here is hauntingly good in how we see the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information. The character development is superb and that there is a moment when we see Chase being human, an uncle and a caring man to his nephew and niece well it gives hope. The pacing is so good in how it takes us through the pages as it reveals those twists and turns the help to create the story's ebb & flow. These guys work so damn well together and this story is pretty effin unique in how it comes to life that it is hard not to think of this as one of Vault's best books ever.
The interiors here are wondrous to behold. Most of the time I feel this throwback to those old House of Mystery types of books and it warms my heart. The old horror comics, The Witching Hour, Ghosts, Unexpected and Weird Mystery, all helped shape my tastes in the horror genre. So that Joshua has his own style and is able to apply that to this and still remind me of those times is damn well perfectly done. His linework and how he utilises it to bring us this attention to detail as well as some ambiguity to the creatures makes the hair on the back of neck stand up. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this absolutely incredible eye for storytelling. How backgrounds are utilised could be better, could be worse but when it counts it's there giving us this fierce full force feel. The colour work here is exquisite. The way we see various hues and tones within any given colour utilised to create the shading, highlighting and shadows is literally gorgeous. How the darkness and the light illuminating portions of it serve to enhance the linework in all the right ways.
This book is damn near perfection and how it's being told is stupidly mindbogglingly brilliant.
Vault Comics 2019
Written by Tim Daniel & Michael Moreci
Illustrated by Joshua Hixson
Coloured by Jordan Boyd
Lettered by Jim Campbell
The cold, ashen hands of what once was reach into the now… and give a little push.
So I don't know how long this series is going to go but I will say this right here and right now I want it to go on as long as humanly possible. I feel like we are just getting started here and as the players in this little drama keep finding themselves embroiled further and further into the madness that surrounds them. The boys and their storytelling here is utterly mindbogglingly good and I just find myself more and more impressed with each new issue. As this continues to unfold I keep seeing elements of classic films of which I can see their influence in this. Also the fact that we never really see anything happen, death or dismemberment, and instead in the tradition of Hitchcock letting it all happen off page so the readers' own mind takes over is far and away one of the most brilliant tactics ever to be employed.
I love the opening here. Reese relating to Magnus her first kiss and his reaction sums up everything we'll ever need to know about him as a man. I don't care that he's Sheriff and what is issues are as they are all not relevant to anything else that happens. He is the kind of man who wants things his way, he won't see anything outside his opinion and I hate these kinds of men. Hate may be a strong word but that's okay because we all need someone to hate. Magnus will do anything he wants to to be rid of Chase rather than believe what is in front of his nose and every good story needs that villain. That we've got some kind of supernatural craziness is the crux of the story sure but it's how the humans react to it that matters.
The story & plot development here is hauntingly good in how we see the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information. The character development is superb and that there is a moment when we see Chase being human, an uncle and a caring man to his nephew and niece well it gives hope. The pacing is so good in how it takes us through the pages as it reveals those twists and turns the help to create the story's ebb & flow. These guys work so damn well together and this story is pretty effin unique in how it comes to life that it is hard not to think of this as one of Vault's best books ever.
The interiors here are wondrous to behold. Most of the time I feel this throwback to those old House of Mystery types of books and it warms my heart. The old horror comics, The Witching Hour, Ghosts, Unexpected and Weird Mystery, all helped shape my tastes in the horror genre. So that Joshua has his own style and is able to apply that to this and still remind me of those times is damn well perfectly done. His linework and how he utilises it to bring us this attention to detail as well as some ambiguity to the creatures makes the hair on the back of neck stand up. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this absolutely incredible eye for storytelling. How backgrounds are utilised could be better, could be worse but when it counts it's there giving us this fierce full force feel. The colour work here is exquisite. The way we see various hues and tones within any given colour utilised to create the shading, highlighting and shadows is literally gorgeous. How the darkness and the light illuminating portions of it serve to enhance the linework in all the right ways.
This book is damn near perfection and how it's being told is stupidly mindbogglingly brilliant.
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