Neon Future Vol.2 #1

Neon Future Vol.2 #1

Impact Theory 2020

Story by Tom Bilyeu, Jim Krueger, Steve Aoki & Matt Colon

Written by Tom Bilyeu

Illustrated by Neil Edwards & Jheremy Raapack

Inked by Keith Champagne

Coloured by David Kim, Nuo Xu, Gabe Eltaeb,, Marc Monroy & Bryan Valenza

Lettered by A Larger World Studios

Hit indie sci-fi series Neon Future returns with 6 new heart-pounding issues! The first installment opens with our hero, Clay Campbell, fighting for his life while trapped in a digital nightmare, where the mysterious Hacker attempts to crack into his mind. And if the Hacker succeeds, Clay knows all of his friends back in the real world will die.

Well that this picks up where the previous arc left off is extremely wonderful to see. I loved getting to know this series from the moment I saw it at C2E2, well when I received it in the mail actually. So to see a second volume out and in full force is utterly delightful to me. And while I still think there seems to be a lot of cooks stirring the pot it surprisingly doesn’t manage to get in the way of a very cohesive and entertaining story. Impact Theory made such a wonderful well impact on me and if you haven’t read the first trade yet you need to order it as soon as humanly possible.

I am such a fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The way that this is structured and how we see the layers within the story continue from before and feel as if they have just begun is some incredible writing. Also the character development that we see is phenomenal in how we are able to really see how Clay is able to be shown. The misdirection, the mind tricks and how they play with him and he comes through it all is utterly amazing and it’s only the tip of the iceberg. The pacing here is fantastic and as it takes us through the pages on this incredibly journey it entrances, excites and enchants the reader.

The interiors here are absolutely wonderful to see. The linework is strong and has this great depth to it and with the varying weights and techniques to create the detail work we see is beautifully rendered. How we see the backgrounds incorporated into the composition of the panels are utilised to create the depth perception, sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story is nicely done. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkable eye for storytelling. Also I have to say the faces and facial expressions that we see throughout are utterly phenomenal and show some serious talent and ability when it comes to bringing these people to life and bringing us their emotions. The colour work we see is beautifully rendered. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is magnificent. Plus the pops of that neon style colour and how geometric patterns of colour are utilised just accentuate everything on these pages.

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This series just goes to show that there is plenty of room in the market for a publishing house like this one. The storytelling is original, interesting and imaginative as it engages the readers’ mind and senses in some truly magical ways. This is why I love comics as an industry because you can find some absolutely sensational storytelling if you are just willing to open your eyes and look past what the sheep are grabbing.