
Red 5 Comics 2020
Written by James Gilarte
Illustrated by Lazzaro Losurdo
Lettered by Marco Della Verde
Jane Doe is on the run from all forms of government. Neumann feels the pressure in order to capture their potential whistleblower. When things turn from bad to worse she will partner up with Louie Green. A conspiracy theorist who may have clues to her past. They must team up before Neumann is able to catch them.
I am enjoying this a heck of a lot more than I expected to and that is saying something considering I already had high expectations. The idea that Jane suffers from amnesia and has already been attacked at the hospital is fantastic stuff. I appreciate how we see the being told because it has this ring of authenticity to it that shouldn’t exactly be there. Yes it is a story but it also has these moments and elements to it that defy logic while getting the reader to believe in it. James has a gift for writing and we see how that is here and it is rather glorious to behold.
I love 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 laid out and presented beautifully. I like how fate has a way of putting people where they need to be. Granted in this case it’s how the story was written but without it feeling that way Louie wouldn’t have seen Jane and her tattoo and knew who she was, at least in the broader sense. Which leads me to the character development that we see here. I am rather enjoying it and seeing Loui and Jane in particular and how they interact with one another is something that feels special and like one of those partnerships being formed that will change both their lives. The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way we see how it all works together to create the books ebb & flow.
There are some really good strong layers in this story and how we see them all playing out within their own realms and knowing they will all come to a huge collision at some point is what keeps the reader glued to the pages. It is also what keeps them coming back for more time and time again.
The interiors here are solid stuff. It isn’t what I normally would gravitate towards but it works well within the confines of the story. Lazzaro has a very distinct unique style and his linework is solid and heavy which can easily soften when called upon. So that we see this in how the backgrounds are utilised is sensational. They enhance the moments, bring us a great depth perception, a sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story. Also I am very much enamoured with his faces and facial expressions that we see throughout. They manage to enhance the characterisation in some subtle and not so subtle ways that make the characters much more intriguing. I like how we see the utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels as they really showcase a wonderful eye for storytelling. The colour work is really rather quite well rendered. There are moments that stick out in the mind's eye when you see them like the lighter casting that yellow and orange glow over the skin and effective that is. I like seeing the way that the various hues and tones are utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work that we see.
This is a great book, it’s fun, interesting, intriguing and engaging, which considering what the story is about and that we’ve got black ops, old white men who think they are in charge and a global European chase well this is more fun than any Tom Cruise film that’s for sure!