Resistance: Uprising #1

Resistance: Uprising #1

AWA Upshot Studios 2021

Written by J. Michael Straczynski

Illustrated by C.P. Smith

Coloured by Snakebite Cortez

Lettered by Sal Cipriano

Acclaimed writer J. Michael Straczynski returns the prescient, ambitious world of The Resistance! In the wake of the assassination of their leader, the Resistance is in disarray, disconnected from each other and hunted by authorities around the world – including an army of "reborns" recruited by the American government. To avert decimation at the hands of a fascistic government crackdown, the Resistance must discover the ace up their sleeve, and then the key to unlocking it.

Wow I mean this is one of those books that you have to read several times before you can fully grasp what is going on here. I love that about this too because a cerebral story like this tends be utterly outstanding in how it engages the reader and lets them feel like they become a part of it. Also there’s another part of this that showcases a few things about our society that are ugly and those that is if the Government (s) see something they don’t understand they try to capture and control it, if that doesn’t work then they try to destroy it. All the while trying to replicate the situation so that they can utilise to create on their terms to once again control what is happening. Old men have fear in their hearts and the desire to control at any and all costs and it’s this that unfortunately sets the stage for majority of world governments.

I love the way that this is being told. How we see the story & plot development through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented extremely well. Also the transitions between segments is handled beautifully and I don’t get that jumping feeling that can happen when switching gears, scenes and characters. The character development is phenomenal and whether it’s Feyodor, Ms. Ramirez or Hernando, could be any of the others as well as their dialogue and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter continue to flesh them out immaculately well. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we get caught up in the beginning of a revolyutsioner!

God these interiors are gorgeous. How we see the linework with its varying weights and techniques being laid down to create such a high level in the quality of the detail work is utterly astounding. The backgrounds we see are mind numbingly sensational in how they enhance the moments and then when we add them into the composition within the panels and see the depth perceptions, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope they bring to the story i’m left in awe. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows such a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work we see is divine. How the various hues and tones within the colours are being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work we see is beautifully rendered. The different techniques in laying the colour down and seeing the hues you don’t automatically expect in certain colours shows a sensational understanding of how colour works.

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This could be Heroes done the correct way if you really want my opinion. It is violent, fresh, interesting and so damn intelligently written it’ll knock your socks off take, taking the foot and calf with it when it does. If you are looking for something that has action, intrigue and is full of surprises than this is the golden ticket you’ve been looking for!