Origins #2

Origins #2

BOOM! Studios 2020

Created by Arash Amel, Lee Krieger & Joseph Oxford

Written by Clay McLeod Chapman

Illustrated by Jakub Rebelka

Coloured by Patricio Delpeche

Lettered by Im Campbell

Nowhere is safe on the planet that David helped destroy, including the secret hideout where he was brought back to life as the last living human. When enemy AI attacks, David and his robot guardian, Chloe, must face an impossible mission in search of answers. It's a dangerous journey but humanity's only hope lies in the father of robotics going back to where it all started -- no matter the cost.

There is something about this that resonates with the reader in some of the most unexpected ways imaginable. I mean Chloe kept David in the dark about who he was and how long it’s been since man walked the Earth and something about that this that is crazy in its scope and execution. While David is hellbound and determined to learn what Chloe has been keeping from him and like any man it’s more than he can handle and until he tries to process that does he realise his mistake. This is such a character driven piece and it revolves around an idea of what man is and what he represents and what makes him human. That’s a tall order for anyone to undertake and somehow Clay manages to take this and turns it into this science fiction masterpiece that is reminiscent of what I read as a teenager.

The way that this is being told is bloody well brilliant. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is impeccably rendered. There is a marriage here between words and visuals which work together beautifully it also manages to show the science side a lot more than mere words and seeing how integral to each other they are. The character development is utterly marvellous. How human is Chloe and how much more growing up does David have to do is demonstrated perfectly within these pages. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story along with the twists & turns along the way we are fully immersed in this world.

I love the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge and grow. The way that we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow is absolutely magnificent. Clay really impresses me with his talent, skill, nerve and talent here.

The interiors here are very very interesting. Jakub’s style is his and his alone and that contributes a lot to the way that we see this in such a successful way. I really want to see backgrounds more though because when we do see them they are so effective in fleshing out the moment more. I will say that while this isn’t the super detailed work that I normally go for what I see here is beyond phenomenal. The ambiance or mood, tone and feel of the work is really exceptionally felt by the reader and to be able to achieve this level of transference is a sign of a damn good artist. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkable eye for storytelling. I love the colour work we see here as well. How the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to showcase the shading, highlights and shadow work is beautifully rendered.

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This for me is such a surprise hit in a non-traditional sense. This is the kind of outside the box thinking that’s becoming much more prevalent in today’s comics. No one is playing it safe anymore and the envelope has no more room to be pushed because it’s been already obliterated. Kudos to BOOM! on bringing us a book of this level and calibre.