Bloom #4

Bloom #4

Hero Tomorrow Comics 2021

Created, Written, Layouts, Colours & Lettering by Ted Sikora

Layouts & Illustrated by Butch Mapa

It's the final soul-shattering chapter between the aspiring comic book creator, Ramsey, and his body painted muse, Regina, who has now fully become the villain she was only supposed to portray. What will Regina do with this power now that she has it? Can Ramsey get out of the forest alive?

Oh Ted you naughty naughty boy. You had me for a minute I’ll admit that wholeheartedly and then to see how the reality of it happens to play out was something I hadn’t fully expected to see. I have to say that all this playing out with Woodstock in the background is fantastic to see. Everything about this story has been told at such a high standard and it is nice to see that each issue raised the stakes from the one that came before it. The opening here is great and I wish more books had a recap of what’s come before just in case the reader needed that refresher. It also serves as a look for someone who sees the cover that catches their eye and makes them curious about what this is all about. It is smartly done as well by using the inside cover and first page so as not to really affect the books overall page count.

I am loving 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 are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job spotlighting the ever changing and evolving personalities. The pacing is exceptional and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, the twists & turns and revelations we are left with an overwhelming desire to see more.

I am pretty impressed with the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I am also liking the way that we see these layers open up new avenues to be explored. So many past lives, where her followers come from, Ramsey’s wife and more are threads or avenues that are left open ended right now and this adds some wonderful depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

I am a huge fan of the interior artwork here. The creativity and imagination not to mention the authenticity of how we see the fashion as it has this way of igniting the readers’ imagination. The linework is clean, crisp and sharp and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work throughout is exceptionally well rendered. Between the use of backgrounds and how we see the composition within the panels we see how they enhance and expand the moments while also bringing out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a sensational understanding of how colour works. Joe Cocker’s shirt, that moment Ramsey grabs her and we see that surge of colour yeah those are moments I wish we’d see more of.

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Hero Tomorrow Comics manages to bring a throwback comic feel to modern comics and reminds us how our love of the medium started. This book is a perfect example of this with its sensational writing, amazing characterisation and these absolutely stunning interiors.