Far Cry: Rite of Passage #2

Far Cry: Rite of Passage #2

Dark Horse Comics 2021

Written by Bryan Edward Hill

Illustrated by Geraldo Borges

Coloured by Michael Atiyeh

Lettered by Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s JImmy Betancourt

The value of family is shown through the fateful demise of a man who saw no bounds to what he was willing to sacrifice for his ends—the notorious Pagan Min. Features fan-favourite villains from Far Cry 3, Far Cry 4, and Far Cry 5!

I love that at its core this is a story about a father and his son. While trying to bond with his son and teach him the lessons he had to learn as he prepares him for what’s to come and you can almost feel like he’s using Diego for some reason or another. It feels both genuine and yet false at the same time because he has the love of is son but what he’s doing is either going to strengthen that or shatter it beyond repair. Different cultures and different positions in life really do make a difference in how things are done and this of course is one of those examples. Of course not all cultures are as ruthless as those in South America or the Korea’s so there is that.

I am totally into 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 they act and react to the situations and circumstance that they encounter is pretty magnificent to see. The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we’re caught up in this with horrid fascination.

I like the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, strengthen and newly emerge depending on the avenues we see opening up. Of course these layers are where the bulk of the characterisation happens and how the story within a story comes to life. Whether they work to further the main arc or swirl around it what they do is add this extra depth and complexity to the story so marvellously. How everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably achieved.

The interiors here are superb. I really like the linework we see and then how the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this quality of detail work is extraordinary to see. The use of backgrounds throughout is clever as what we see manages to enhance the moment but there’s also the trick of the eye happening within the panels as well. Speaking of the way they work within the composition of the panels to bring about the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is really well achieved. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a very talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is extremely nice to see. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work are rendered exceptionally well.

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The more we see of this story the more impressed I become. Sure I know it’s based off a video game but I’m not a gamer so before this I’d never heard of it and if you are like myself than you don’t need to know anything coming into this. If you do play the game its a great compliment to the franchise. Now that we’ve been introduced to Pagan Min I’d love to see this creative team take on a mini-series on him. He stole the show this issue and if they can make him feel as creepy as President Antón Castillo if not more so well tell me now but I believe they can. This is brilliantly written and with spectacular interiors making this stand alone or tie-in to the game perfectly.