Nocterra #4

Nocterra #4

Image Comics 2021

Written by Scott Snyder

Illustrated by Tony S. Daniel

Coloured by Tomeu Morey

Lettered by Andworld Design

“FULL THROTTLE DARK,” Part Four

The road runs out as Val reaches the fabled location of her promised sanctuary. Will she find the haven she so desperately seeks, or will something far more terrifying be waiting for her?

I still like the fact that each issue starts off with a scene from the past and that each new issues follows the one before so it’s a continuous story arc that’s being told. I’m still waiting to see the moment when Em catches whatever this is that turns folks. We know it’ss coming soon Em’s own narration tells us as much but I’m not sure that I’m really prepared to see it happen because I have a feeling that it’s going to be much more horrific than I’m already imagining it to be. Also I am so engaged in this story that I have to wonder how much time has passed as the pair have been travelling and transporting folks. After all Val looks so much older than she did in the opening so it makes you think just how impressive it is she’s kept them both alive this long and keeping Em from fully changing.

I am absolutely loving every moment of how 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 that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as through how they act and react to the situations and circumstances that they encounter is rather extraordinary. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story as well as the twists & turns along the way alongside the twists & turns along the way keeps us glued to the pages.

I am really enjoying how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, evolve and strengthen. Just the way that we see this being told and how we see the beginning of the conversation between Mother Hubbard and Bellewether just add that touch of depth and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow and how it moves the story forward is incredibly well achieved.

The interiors here are bloody stunning. The linework that we see with its varying weights and techniques are being utilised to create this level of quality in the detail work is insanely good. Heck even with the way that backgrounds are being utilised throughout are extremely well done and how they work within the composition of the panels to bring us depth perception, a sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is magnificently rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a masters eye for storytelling. The colour work is simply stunning. That shirt Mother Hubbard is wearing for example is a great example of how talented Tomeu actually is. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work really do showcase the work of a master colourist.

The love, passion and sheer chutzpah that these creators put into this book really does make this one of the stronger books you’ll have the pleasure to read. You can tell that this is a labour of love and it means so much more than working on a franchise character, the difference can be felt and seen on every single page. For me this is where Scott shines the brightest with his amazing writing and with Tony’s work on the interiors with Tomeu’s colours and Andworld’s lettering, forget about it it’s too damn good.