
Scout Comics 2018
Written by Thorsten Brochhaus & Ralf Singh
Pencilled by Ralf Singh
Inked by Cristian Docolomansky
Coloured by Ilaria Fella & Nic Chapuis
Lettered by Taylor Esposito
A run in with the Followers spells trouble for our group, especially for James. It's not revenge they seek, but something far more sinister. It's up to Claire, with some help from her new friend, Andrew, and dog, Ares, to bail her partner out. But what do the Followers really want and who is the mysterious, disfigured man among them. Will the group be able to reach Portsmouth harbour in time and be able to regain control of the world from the dragons?
I kind of miss the old Previously in the credits section. Not that its always necessary but it’s still nice to have. The opening here is wonderfully done and the short sweet moment we see Andrew alone before interrupted is nice. Amidst all the chaos surrounding them and of the Followers themselves to see something so ordinary as this really leaves an impact. However thanks to the nature of the world they live in that is way too short lived. Still this only reinforces the fact that I like the way that this book is structured. There is a superb ebb & flow the way we see what happens within these pages and that creates a very deceptive fast read. I say this because in all honesty the pacing is rather remarkable and that we learn what we do while things seem to fly by is extremely well done.
I am also pretty impressed with how the guys manage to really tie everything together. There are different avenues that are going on but all seem to have a focus on the same things. I know I am not explaining this well enough but somehow the Followers, our group of travellers as well as those we meet in Portsmouth have these tendrils that tie them together. This world is no longer the one they knew there is a new reality and it’s unfolding, unravelling, more and more with each passing day. While I cannot explain it we all know that every time something catastrophic happens new cults and religions pop up and these Followers and their agenda are intriguingly unknown to me and that makes me want to know more.
The interiors here are quite good. While I can excuse the lack backgrounds in some instances here that we see say the ground while the top of panel is white is a nice middle ground to their use. Innovative, fresh and one of the best examples of teamwork that I’ve seen. While the linework is crisp, clean and nicely laid down much of what I am drawn to here is through the colouring and the effect that it has. I am a huge fan of what we see here and the utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a great eye for storytelling. The attention to detail that we see is amazing and the faces and facial expressions here just compliment the characterisation.
The story and the characterisation here is so good. It is very easy to get swept up in the proceedings here and want to know more. From the organization of these Followers and by that I mean how they’ve galvanised themselves to the folks in Portsmouth and even in Alaska and how much has changed in a short amount of time. We are exposed to just enough that we understand the current state of things but are still left wanting to know more. There are a lot of things left open ended and it’s those places that the folks here make us want to see.
Scout Comics is home to some of the more interesting stories on stands today. With the quality and level of storytelling that we see it’s easy to know why I am such a huge supporter of their books and why you should be too.