Maniac of New York #1

Maniac of New York #1

Aftershock Comics 2021

Created & Written by Elliott Kalan

Created & Illustrated by Andrea Mutti

Lettered by Taylor Esposito

Four years ago, a masked slasher began stalking the streets of New York City. Maniac Harry is inhuman, unkillable and unstoppable. Which is why the authorities’ solution has been to ignore him, and let New Yorkers adapt to a world where death can strike at any moment. When Maniac Harry starts killing his way through the subway system, trauma-haunted political aide Gina Greene and disgraced NYPD detective Zelda Pettibone become determined to go rogue and destroy him. But how can they fight a monster when they can’t fight City Hall?

Well when you are going to write a story about a homicidal maniac who terrorises a city you might as well start if off like this because i’ll be damned if i’m not a hell of a lot more interesting than I could’ve hoped for. I mean this has a very strong, unique and crazy point of view happening so far and the characters we have been introduced to are rather polar opposite of each other which makes for an interesting combination. What impressed me the most here is how well this is being written and how it is able to pull the reader into the story while giving so little away.

The way that this is being told is utterly sensational! 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. How we see the events unfold and get a grasp for how this story is bing told it has this way of engaging the readers’ mind, imagination and creativity to really take them further into this world. There is also a social commentary here that cannot be ignored and you really need to read it to fully understand why I feel lit’s important to the story. The character development that we see is interesting and I look forward to learning more about these women who have taken centre stage. The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists & turns along the way as well as the story itself is incredible to see.

The way that this is being structured as well as how we see the layers within the story emerge is really rather well conceived and orchestrated. The way we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow is really rather great to see.

I have been a fan of Andrea’s for a while now and he never disappoints when it comes to his work. The imagery is flawless and the whole stylised way that we see the characters through the linework as well as the colour really brings out the emotion to the reader. Also I am a fan of the way that we see backgrounds being utilised throughout as well as they enhance the moments as well as bring us depth perception, a 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 within the composition in the panels show such a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is inspired. The watercolour effect that we se and how the various hues and tones within the colours are being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is exceptional work.

​

I love this book, from the way it’s being told to how we see the characters and characterisation all stemming from the premise which seems to send folks spiralling out of control. Aftershock established itself as one of the biggest names in the business when it comes to outrageously stunning storytelling and it’s brooks like this that showcase how that’s not going to change anytime soon.