Nocterra #2

Nocterra #2

Image Comics 2021

Written by Scott Snyder

Illustrated by Tony S. Daniel

Coloured by Tomeu Morey

Lettered by Andworld Design

“FULL THROTTLE DARK,” Part Two

Val brings her passengers to their first truckstop—the Neon Grove! But with her brother getting worse by the minute, and dark forces in hot pursuit, our ferryman finds herself faced with a grave decision.

Things are certainly getting interesting and its happening quite quickly. I think that what we see within these pages is a great example of creators having fun! The passion and love that I see here for this project is amazing and it’s infectious as it bleeds into the reader right from the page through the fingertips. I mean the opening really does wonders because how does an eleven year old have the wherewithal to do what she’s doing? She’s street smart and book smart enough to know to do this at that age when the world goes dark and her parents turn to some form of religion and science to explain it all away.

I really like how this is being told. The story & plot development we see through the how the sequence of events to unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. From the past to the present and the deception of her passengers with the ruthlessness of her pursuers every single thing we see and the order in which we see it is done so beautifully as to have the maximum effect on the reader. The character development is outstanding to see and how the characters act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter speaks volumes about who they are and it fleshes them out so much better than simply the dialogue we see. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story it engages the readers’ minds in way that you might not completely expect.

I am very much enjoying how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, strengthen and evolve while new ones emerge. It is these that take the story from standard to extraordinary in how we see everything. How we see everything working together to create the story’s eb & flow as it coves the story ever forward is increasing delightful.

God the interiors here are beautiful. How we see the creativity and imagination through the linework with its varying weights and techniques being brought to life through this impeccable attention to detail is mindbogglingly brilliant. How we see backgrounds are incorporated into the composition within the panels to not only enhance the moments but to bring us the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is amazingly well rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a true masters eye for storytelling. The colour work is extraordinary to see. How light sources are utilised to showcase how the various hues and tones within the colours are being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is mind numbing.

This is one of those books that you know the creators but you aren’t prepared for the level and quality of what these creators hae unleashed upon us. They’ve always been outstanding but like I said this is a passion project and you can feel that on every page and that makes all the difference in the world. If you think a reader can’t tell when someone is phoning it in and who’s working from a place of passion and love than you obviously don’t read a lot of independent books because the difference I see here is absolutely stunning.

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This is so intelligently written with amazing characters whose characterisation is flawless rendered alongside some of the finest interior artwork around.