All-out war is over and it’s “A new beginning” for The Walking Dead! After the events of the storyline Negan was captured by Rick and the start of a brand new era of expansion and civilization was set into motion. I have personally seen some people become uninterested with the previous storyline and this progression could be the perfect thing to get people excited for the comic again.

In the issue Kirkman makes the bold move to advance the story 2 years into the future. Understandably some people will be annoyed with the sudden jump in the story; leaving a rather large gap in the life of some of their favourite characters. However, this isn’t just a gimmick or a tool used to bring aboard new readers. It’s directly linked to the previous story arc and is beneficial to both new and old readers. It seems clear that the 2 years that were skipped over where a time of a rebuilding of civilization. Which, while being interesting for some could get boring very fast for others.

Some of the noticeable changes are the look of the main cast; Rick is particularly unrecognisable. However, it is not hard to determine who is who. Carl has obviously grown up a lot and is a teenager at this point. Rick & Andrea’s relationship has advanced in the issue and they are more like a married couple. The main change is the huge expansion of the overall community both in size and quality of life. This includes all of the camps (Alexandria, The Hilltop, etc.) in the area. Everyone seems to have systems for trading, farming, manufacturing, schooling and careers. As well as ways in which they lead Walkers away from the camps. They also seem to run a “Fair” of some sorts. But, we don’t know what that consists of yet.

It seems clear that the type of story The Walking Dead is changes within this issue. We’ve gone from a comic about survival at all costs to a comic about the rebuilding of civilization and the problems that come with it. The whole change breathes new life into the story and adds some hope & safety for the future, something we’ve not truly experienced before in this universe. The characters in the book have also evolved with this change. Everyone seems to have their certain role in the community and have developed personally through those roles. Rick is the leader, Andrea is his second-in-command and leader in her own right, Jesus is in charge of the defence of the community and Eugene is in charge of manufacturing and science. We’ve also seen a development of Carl getting into the mentality of a normal teenager; he’s become someone who wants to do his own thing which might lead him away from Rick. Carl has also connected with someone who probably isn’t good for him. We also see the introduction of new characters into the book. “Magna” will likely become a big character in the story to come.

Robert Kirkman promised big things this year in The Walking Dead and if this issue is anything to go by he is delivering. He’s giving the series a new lease of life. The progression in the story has allowed for new characters, the development of fan favourites as well as the civilization around them. Seeing how their plans and what they have done as well as how this budding new community has affected them is very intriguing and I can’t wait to find out more.

Story/Writing – 5/5
Art – 4.5/5
Overall – 4.5/5

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These last few years Image comics have been releasing a steady and impressive stream of new titles. Ranging from crazy sci-fi epics like “Saga”, to twists on the classic superhero genre like “Bounce”. A lot of these new series have been relatively good, but every once in a while a new series comes along that is head and shoulders above the rest; this time it’s Black Science. This book sits safely at the top of the pile of best new comics to be released this year.

Written by Rick Remender with art by Matteo Scalera and Dean White this dark and gritty sci-fi epic is something different and unique while retaining the classic themes that make a great sci-fi story.

Right off the bat we are dropped straight into the action; our main character Grant runs through a forest desperately trying to escape the creatures chasing him. Along with him is a member of his group Jen. They’re trying to make it back to their group; they only have a small amount of time left. The way Remender writes this whole scene you can feel the sense of panic that the characters are going through. You can feel it in the way they speak and through the way that Matteo Scalera illustrates them. It immediately draws you into the story and gives you a connection to the characters. You already feel for them before you even know them. He grabs you and never lets you go.

The whole story feels like a dark, creepy and pulse jumping story from a classic pulp magazine. Like a taste of a classic piece of sci-fi. Remender teases us throughout the entire issue; giving us all the information about where Grant has been and where he is going, what he’s been through and who he is. While also navigating you through an intense action sequence that sets up the story for issues to come. He does it in such a way that you don’t feel overloaded with information but you feel like you absorb it naturally while proceeding with the fast pace of the issue. This is probably the best first issue to a book I have ever read.

By the end of the issue I feel like I’ve been given all the information I need to progress in the story and I didn’t even know it was happening! That’s the mark of a great introduction. It sets us up for the journey we are beginning and teases us with an overarching theme we can sink our teeth into. The end of the issue is perfect and has me extremely excited for the next instalment.

The story isn’t the only amazing thing about this issue; the art is some of the nicest I’ve ever laid eyes on. At once it both excites and scares you with its darkness. It’s a visual masterpiece that pulls you and adds greatly to the fast paced feeling of the book. Every page is beautifully laid out with every panel bursting with exciting detail which adds to the realism of the story. From disgusting monsters to forests sitting on the back of giant turtles; everything is nothing less than a joy to look at. The detail fills you with so much understanding while bringing up so many questions about the world our characters inhabit.

This issue is a masterpiece of storytelling in both the writing and the art. It grabs you from the very get go and rushes you through an exciting yet scary adventure that ends with the start of the next. It sets up the series perfectly and leaves you excited for more. Do yourself a favour and go and buy this book! You will not regret it!

Story/Writing – 5/5
Art – 5/5
Overall – 5/5

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Many of you folks out there probably know Joe Hill as the writer of the marvellous IDW series “Locke & Key”. Quite a lot of you might not know that Joe Hill is also an amazing writer of novels!  His most recent novel “NOS4A2” or “NOS4R2” for us UK folks is the story of Charles Manx & his Silver Wraith and his adventures in Christmasland. Now that Locke & Key is coming to an end, Mr Hill has been kind enough to grace us with a new comic; a comic set in the crazy and scary world of his novel “NOS4A2”.

First things first, I just want to say that I have never read “NOS4A2” before; something which I hope to rectify after reading this series. The reason I plan to rectify this AFTER reading this series is because I believe “Wraith” is a prequel. So, this book is completely new reader friendly.

Before we jump straight into looking at the story let me talk about the marvellous art for a bit. The art in this book is provided by CP Wilson III and he does a great job of it! It’s dark, gritty and he uses every bit of his style to add a creepy new layer to the story. It fits perfect within the book and CP does a fantastic job of slowly making the character of Charles Manx creepier throughout the entire book, so much so that it feels like a completely natural progression to the Charles Manx we see at the end of the book. There is also a scene in the book that can’t go without mention. The scene where young Charles Manx is playing with his sled and is confronted by a disgruntled customer of his mothers. This scene is one of the most horrible and emotional scenes I’ve ever seen in comics. However, the scene would be nowhere near as scarring and emotional if the scene was text based. It’s the art in this scene that makes it so good!

Of course you can’t talk about the art without talking about the colours in the book. Nowadays I feel like colourists don’t get the credit they deserve. Colours can make or break a book. Look at “Bedlam” for example, a wonderful crime thriller written by Nick Spencer with amazing art by Riley Rossmo. Now, I’m not saying that the art by Riley Rossmo wouldn’t be good without the colours, however the amazing colours by Jean-Paul Csuka are probably the best colours I have ever seen and makes the art in the book some of my favourite ever. This is why I believe that colourists deserve more credit and that’s why I’m going to talk about the great colours in this book from Jay Fotos. The use of lots of dark colours in the book with a slight splash of bright colour every now and then makes for great contrast. For example, the build up to the end of the book is really dark, however we get great splashes of red that impacts you a lot because you begin to get used to looking at dark and gritty colours. This adds a whole new level to the art and the story that turns a book with good art into a book with great art!

Now, the art isn’t the only amazing thing in this book. The story is obviously pretty amazing too! Firstly I just want to say that this is a really wordy book. An average comic book takes me anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes to read, this one took me around 20 minutes; maybe even more. However, this is no where near a bad thing! The story draws you in and holds you so well that the time flies by.

As I mentioned at the start of this article this book is set in the world of Joe Hill’s newest novel “NOS4A2” and is a prequel to the events of that book. The book follows Charles Manx, a man who Kidnaps children, drains them of their life force and places them in his demented theme park “Christmasland”. This issue takes us all the way from young Charles Manx as he grows up and the events in his life that lead him to his first visit to Christmasland. By getting a closer look at the younger life of Charles Manx leading up to this point, we see him develop into the man he became and the crazy experiences he had to get there. This makes the character a lot more believable and allows you to understand what probably makes him so crazy. The most interesting part of his journey is the idea that he is a victim of circumstance and society. The only thing he has ever tried to do is prove himself and impress his family while wanting to live a normal life. However, it’s the environment he is in and most importantly the people he interacts with that send him on his dark path. Whether it be his wife or the man who tricks him into making an investment; if he had never met these people he would have probably ended up a good guy. I think this is a pretty good comparison to our world in which it’s the people around you who shape what you are just as much as yourself.

The book is narrated by Charles’ future self as he is talking to a child he has kidnapped in his Silver Wraith. I feel like this was a great choice as it gives us an introduction to the character that we’re building up to and allows us to compare him to his past self throughout. This is the most text heavy part of the book and is beautifully written while the dialogue flows perfectly.

By the end of the book we reach Christmasland for the first time. This in many ways is only the beginning of the book! However, it feels that by the time you get to this point that you’ve already completed a long journey. This definitely speaks to the long, crazy & eventful life of Mr Manx. This makes me look forward to what’s to come while also getting great bang for buck from the first issue.

Overall, this is a brilliant book! It’s dark, gritty and emotionally straining. It takes you on a horrible journey that for some reason you can’t get enough of and you’re desperate for more! This is the perfect thriller/horror book. If you are interested in that type of book or you’re a fan of Locke & Key or Joe Hill I can’t recommend this book enough! It leaves a hole that can only be filled by more “Wraith” and I can’t wait for the next issue!

Story + Writing – 5/5
Art – 5/5
Overall Score – 5/5

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