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Compass #5

Image Comics

By Steven LeitmanPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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Compass #5

Image Comics 2021

Written by Robert McKenzie & David Walker

Illustrated by Jusin Greenwood

Coloured by Daniela Miwa

Lettered by Simon Bowland

The Cauldron of Eternal Life falls into Margul Khan’s hands! Now Shahidah El-Amin must hold the line and stop him, or his unkillable armies will spread in conquest across the globe.

This really is a great new series and with the closing issue of the first arc, see what I did there, we see how much of an impact Shahidah has on those around her. I think her optimism, thirst for knowledge and her willingness for the daring-do it all make her one of those rare character finds who seeps into you before you realise it has. This has so many things going for it that make it unique and different especially considering the era in which this is set. Plus it has conspiracy theory type of threads happening throughout and it just really lights up the readers’ imagination and creativity. Plus with a positive female role model that doesn’t show skin and insead cherishes knowledge and learning, yeah this is the kind of woman that we need to see more of in comics in general. Also I really like the rivalry we see with Hua Ling that crosses from friend to foe depending on the situation is something extraordinary in and of itself.

I am very much enjoying how this is being told. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does this absolutely amazing job of bringing their personalities to life. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the paes revealing more and more of the story the deeper we fall under its influence and sway.

I greatly appreciate the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I like how we see these layers open up new avenues to be explored and how they add so much 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 is immaculately rendered.

The interiors here have grown on me with each issue. They aren’t what I normally go for but somehow they are exactly what this story needs. The linework is strong and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work is well achieved. We see a fair bit of backgrounds being utilised throughout the book and enhance and expand the moments beautifully. They also work within the composition of the panels to bring 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 remarkable eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a nice understanding of how colour works.

I sincerely hope that with the way this issue ends that we will see the next arc come soon enough. Between the relationship the two girls have, the wisdom of the Order and Hua’s offer to help our gilded knight free himself of his earthly curse we have several avenues to explore that are open to them. With such strong, intelligent writing and great depth of characterisation alongside these perfectly suited interiors this isn’t the end of the story, this is only the beginning.

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About the Creator

Steven Leitman

Just me talking about the comics I enjoy reading, ones that you might not know exist and spotlighting the indie creators that excite me.

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