Black Cotton #1 Advance Review

Black Cotton #1 Advance Review

Scout Comics 2021

On Sale February 10th 2021

Created & Story by Patrick Foreman & Brian Hawkins

Written by Brian Hawkins

Illustrated by Marco Perugini

Lettered by Francisco Zamora

Set in an alternate reality where the social order of "white" and "black" is reversed, an elitist family, the Cottons, are rocked by a tragic shooting that begins to unravel long standing family secrets that could not only destroy the family but also divide the fragile social climate of the world.

I see this and it makes me wonder, makes me wonder where the book is that features an Earth where homosexuality is the norm and heterosexuality is considered oppressed? While I can definitely appreciate what is being done and the hypocrisy in thinking someone is better than another even if it’s just because Cotton is the last name. Even if this weren’t during a time when we find ourselves once more in a resurgence of hatred based on race, gender and sexual orientation this would definitely be one of the more powerful stories that you are going to read. I find it incredibly solid, interesting and without a doubt of such topical poignancy that it should be talked about and read by as many as humanly possible.

I like the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see here through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented extremely well. I will take issue with one thing and call me out if you will but there was no attempt or hint that the victim possessed what could be considered a weapon and I don’t care where you are that kind of killing is despicable. While self justification is often done that we see none of this here and a mistake is wholeheartedly known by the character the characterisation and development that we see is phenomenally well done. The pacing is well done and as it takes us through the pages introducing us to this world, the characters and how the story is to unfold it is definitely thought provoking.

The way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story are emerging is rather nice to see. I do like how we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as it takes us easily through the pages.

The interiors here are my thing. While it is true that I have come to love seeing work in the black & white format with gray tones I would like to see things tighter, cleaner with much more detail. There is too much of a all ages feel to the linework as the weight consistency doesn’t seem to vary much. I also question some choices when it comes to body proportions and faces with facial expressions. It just doesn’t inspire me and the generic use of backgrounds is just as uninspiring. While the story is fantastic, strong and is making one hell of a statement the interiors for me, I stress this FOR ME, don’t match. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a decent eye for storytelling.

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So while the interiors for me don’t do the story justice this is a case where they don’t make it unreadable either. There is no detriment to the work that we see to keep one from reading the book. The moral of the story as it were is more than worth the price of admission here and if you cannot place yourself in a world that is the polar opposite of what you believe to see things from a new and different angle then you have no business being vocal to and for about those who do.