C.R.I.T. #1

C.R.I.T. #1

Homebrewed Heroes 2021

Written by Chrisopher Michael, Brad Haynes & Terryl Wilkins

Illustrated by Christopher Michael & Cristiano Cruz

CRIT is a superhero comic based on a tabletop game created by Homebrewed Heroes. It is an action/adventure series that centers around a group of friends that gained powers after an accident at work. As with any tabletop game, the outcomes depend on how the players roll the dice, so the outcome of each story can be unpredictable. The series follows the team as they uncover the source of their powers, face challenges? and grapple with choices that test whether or not they can truly call themselves...superheroes.

This one was sent to me asking for a review and read it and I have to say I’m definitely intrigued by it. I also like the fact that they are doing this like a Dungeons & Dragons role playing game with dice and saving throws, I think it’s the first time I’ve come across it where it’s opening stated it’s being done this way. These throws will shape the actions and thus the dialogue and how the characters grow, development and even perish while in battle. It is a pretty genius way to go about this and I look forward to seeing how the guys manage to keep this going.

I like 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 presented extremely well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances that they encounter do well to flesh them out as real folks. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages introducing us to the characters, this world and the story we’re pulled in nicely and left wanting to see and know more.

I like the way we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge and grow. The layers have the characterisation gains traction, like Caliber and his guns, and where the twists and turns happen and what they do is add extra depth 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 is very well achieved.

The interiors are okay. A little stiff at times, more posed than feeling natural and fluid, but with more time spent on the program the more natural it’ll become. Right now it’s off to a nice start and has some really good linework and the attention to detail is also phenomenally nice to see. I really would like see backgrounds utilised more as they have the ability to really enhance the moments and help being within the composition of the panels that bring us 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 talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is brilliantly rendered actually. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work we see is beautifully rendered.

I’m really impressed with this issue. There is a lot of potential here and from what they’ve said about how it’s going to be told moving forward makes it even more exciting because there’s no way to predict what is going to happen. This ensures that you have to come back to see what is going to happen next. It’s a brilliant way to tell a story and I for one support this idea wholeheartedly.

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If you’d like to check out this small press publisher and grab a copy of this, I really think you should, you can head on over to https://www.hbhcomics.com/ and read about the book, the franchise and what else they have to offer. Keep indie comics alive folks without them the industry isn’t that interesting.