Unlikely Heroes Studios 2018
Created & Written by John Pence
Pencilled by Zachary Dolan
Inked by Laurie Foster
Coloured by Eve Orozco
Colour Assists by Marcelo Briseno
Lettered by Erek Foster
Hanover is teamed with Rogers to scavenge steel so that the fort’s skilful Smithy can forge new militia blades. Far from home, the salvage squad is attacked by a brutal gang of robbers and chased overland back to Turtle Island. Master Rogers is wounded in the chase, and Hanover’s young medical apprentice Abner holds the bandits off with suppressing fire. The salvager's have arrived at the gates to the old fort, and as the gates close, Hanover and her faithful steed Old Paint have deliberately remained outside to settle a score. The knives are out. She spits in the dirt. Here they come.
Oh my sweet Caroline is the opening something to see here! As Hanover tries to get Old Paint into the fort he won’t go, he’s not about to leave her alone on this battlefield. As she’s going about exacting her revenge against this band of robbers the locals are up on the embankments watching the scene unfold. This is the moment that Master Rogers and his people truly understand the power of this woman and they’ve underestimated her. Also this demonstrates to them and to us that she could leave anytime that she likes and as so far as she got herself into this she’s staying for a bit.
The writing and the dialogue here is rather fantastic. I mean I understand seeing something for the first time and being stunned into silence but seriously this is a bit much. I cannot wait to see what kind of aftermath is going to happen in the wake of the opening. After all men being shown up by a woman usually doesn’t sit well with some of them. I do like that we also see her working on Rogers wound it gives the reader a more well rounded look at her and while she fully admits to making bad judgement calls about whom she kills and while not comfortable sticking around permanently she’s here and she’ll fight. Whether asked to or not.
The interiors here are pretty damn gorgeous in my opinion. The linework is sharp, crisp and creates this detail work that makes it stand out. Seriously the varying weights of the linework and how it’s manipulated so something is detailed to broad strokes the eye can find something new with every passing. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see angles and perspective in the panels shows off a stellar eye for storytelling. That we see backgrounds utilised like they are is fantastic and we really do get that whole 15 years after society fell feel. I am totally impressed with how this team works together and the (sick) imagination and creativity in what we see and how it’s used here well damn people.
Oh the way that the world is rendered and how quickly it demonstrates how mankind will fall into various factions is well done. In it’s own way that is creepy enough because when those who are already of questionable reputation band together and become the most vile and repugnant version of people possibly the most disturbing aspect of what we are seeing here. Not only but it shows this ability that John has to write a magnificent story but to really truly flesh out the different types of people that inhabit this world now.
Again this is a great example of why I love small press companies who feature up and coming talent that need to be seen by those of us who love and read comics. This is a book that can stand toe to toe with anything that the major companies are putting out, and I do include Image in this.