Jules Verne's Lighthouse #2

Jules Verne’s Lighthouse #2

Image Comics/Shadowline/Anomaly Productions 2021

Written by David Hine & Brian Haberlin

Illustrated by Brian Haberlin

Coloured by Geirrod Van Dyke

Lettered by Francis Takenaga

PART TWO – SECRET WAR

When Vasquez runs out of her medication, her nanny bot Moses comes up with a new prescription. Now she has to contend with mood swings and side effects as well as a horde of murderous space pirates. This could turn out to be a very bad day.

Alright so the more I see the more I love this story. The fact that these pirates came out of nowhere, took over the Lighthouse and have laid in wait for their target is a fascinating idea to me. Mainly because Pirates aren’t known for long-term plans or being patient enough to lay in wait and I think that without know what their objective is makes it even more interesting for the reader. What the guys are managing to do here is take a classic and turn it into something pretty darn near unique and original on its own merits. I’m pretty darn impressed with how we see this being rendered on a every level right down to the lettering which will change font and colour depending on where and who is talking.

I love 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 perfectly presented. The character development that we see is spectacular as the dialogue, the character interaction alongside how the characters act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter help to really flesh them out. I’m impressed because we know that there are preexisting conditions, especially with Vasquez, and how we see that with everything else occurring here really creates this beautiful storm of activity. The pacing that we see is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story it draws the reader deeper and deeper in perfectly.

I am very much enjoying the way that this is being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, strengthen and evolve while new ones emerge through new characters and how situations change. The way that everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved extremely well.

The interiors here are absolutely stunning to behold. The linework we see is exquisite and how the varying weights and techniques are being utilised to create this level of quality in the detail work is mind numbing. The creativity and imagination that we see in this, the nanny bot as well as the Pirates themselves, and how it brings this place and these people to life is purely mindbogglingly. How backgrounds are incorporated in the composition within the panels add this great depth perception, sense of scale as well as the overall sense of size and scope to the story is so well rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is phenomenal! How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a great understanding of how colour works.

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This really the original source work such justice in how it also feels like it is a modern day classic science fiction epic in the making. The idea that something is supposed to be a beacon of light and hope and is being turned into something dark and foreboding is part of what engages the readers mind in some creative ways that sparks their imagination. This is exciting, fresh, different and overall has the perfect blend of pure storytelling and action/adventure melded together. These folks work so bloody well as a team that this intelligently written and stunningly beautiful interiors really make this a true experience.