Deal Breaker #1 Advance Review

Deal Breaker #1 Advance Review

Evoluzione Publishing 2021

On Sale October 27th 2021

Written by Marcel Dupree & Joshua Metzger

Illustrated by Jonas Scharf

Coloured by Marco Pagnotta

Lettered by Brant Fowler

Jerry always wanted the perfect life. Now he has to decide how far he wants to go in order to keep it!

I am a fan of Evoluzione Publishing and I have been since Marcel sent me my first book to review so when this came and I saw who was involved I got terribly excited. I mean this is an all-star lineup of talent folks, my only regret is that I haven’t gotten to review this earlier. We all know the saying “be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it” and we’ve seen this play out on television and in films and seeing it happen here is a great twist on a classic concept. I am incredibly impressed with this story and the talent involved in bringing it to life, it manages to engage the reader and get them to become invested in the story very quickly as Jerry is something of an everyman, someone we can relate to and empathise with. These are the best kind of stories too because it just goes to show that an ordinary bloke can become the subject of an extraordinary story.

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 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 really does a magnificent job in bringing their personalities to the forefront. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages introducing the story, the characters and the world they live in the more I want to see.

I adore how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story begin to emerge and grow. The layers within the story open up new avenues to be explored and while some are being looked into, others aren’t and regardless they all add this great 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 impeccably achieved.

I am a huge fan of the work Jonas does. His interiors are mindbogglingly brilliant and to see the linework with its varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality of detail within the work is truly astonishing. That we see backgrounds utilised so prevalent throughout the book to enhance and expand the moments are bloody brilliant. 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 is extremely well rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the story being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a stellar eye for how colour works and how to maximise its effects. To see how musculature can be created and to see the depth and dimension in inanimate objects is spectacular to see.

Nothing in life is free, there’s a cause and effect that is always in play and for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So for Jerry to get the life that he so desperately wants to have there has to come a time when it’s time to pay the piper for it and in this case not only do we get to see this come into being but we also become embroiled in the what ifs of it all. There are so many unanswered questions surrounding the life he’s leading and those that are in it and how any being would be able to manipulate situations the way we see done. This is more of that engagement factor because it makes you really think of what’s on the page and what doesn’t appear anywhere in the story at least at this time.

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The writing and characterisation are abso-bloody-lutely perfect and these brilliant interiors bringing the words to life with such aplomb make this something you need to ensure your store orders for you.