Locust #4
Scout Comics 2021
Written by Massimo Rosi
Illustrated by Alex Nieto
Lettered by Mattia Gentilli
The journey continues, in the present and in the past. In the present Max gives his all to find little Stella and save her from the clutches of the fanatic Ford. While in the past, we see how the two have tried in every way to find hope bring a faint light to a cold, frozen world devoured by darkness.
I am in awe of this series. Massimo manages to tell this brilliant story of a Max who needs something in his life to keep him going, to have a purpose to live and it’s emotional, impactful and it engages the readers’ mind and imagination. It does this so beautifully and in such a strong way that you don’t even realise how the pull of the story manages to draw you in and become involved and invested in Max’s life. I've said it in the past and I’ll say it again. I honestly believe Massimo is one of today’s most talented, gifted and underestimated writers because he is that good at what he does. I love this book and how the Locusts are the catalyst. They take more of a secondary role in all this and it’s amazing at how well this is done.
I really 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 exceptionally well. The character development we see through the dialogue, character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in bringing their personalities to life and makes them feel like people we know. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story the more we’re embroiled in what we see.
How we see this being structured and how the layers continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen is really magnificent to see. The way these layers open up different avenues, some of which will be explored and others won’t be but they all add this depth, dimension and complexity to the story. It really has a powerful way about it that is subtle. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well how it moves the story forward is immaculately achieved.
The interiors here I wish were a little sharper and that the locust people were a lot scarier than they are. It’s a missed opportunity to me but it does this beautiful job of bringing the right mood, tone and feel to every moment. The way that we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance and expand the moments as well as 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 superbly rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is interesting and it’s really black, white and all kinds of shades of gray and then all these shades of yellow, orange and ochre. These are actually brilliantly rendered into this so judiciously and it makes the moments that much more powerful.
The way that this is being told is utterly mindbogglingly brilliant to me. Max is such a great character and the more we see and learn the more I want to know. His personality and his fears and hopes all remain in this jumbled mess but we can see him and what we see intrigues the heck out of me. This is brilliantly written with some absolutely marvellous characterisation and wrapped up in the mood inducing interiors.
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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