Scout's Honor #2

Scout’s Honor #2

Aftershock Comics 2021

Written by David Pepose

Illustrated by Luca Casalanguida

Coloured by Matt Milla

Lettered by Carlos M. Mangual

Ever since the bombs fell and the skies turned to nuclear fire, the Ranger Scouts of America have built their religion upon their most sacred law — always be prepared. But after discovering a chilling secret in an abandoned bunker, Kit’s belief in the Scout tradition is rocked to the core — yet when a gang of murderous highwaymen breach the Ranger Scout compound, her growing doubts might come at a harrowing cost…

This is a great example of why I think Aftershock is one of today’s premiere publishing houses. David’s been a steady climb and his talent is undeniable and together at last we get a book of this calibre. I mean it too because how we are seeing this story being told and the impact it has upon the reader is utterly tremendous. Last issue we were introduced to the father and daughter team and yeah we had questions and the opening for this one answers those regarding the two of them and the secret they share. Also it gives us a glimpse into the immediate aftermath of what happened and that we don’t really delve into that makes me even happier.

I am in love with the way that this is being told. How we see the story & plot development unfold thanks to seeing how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is impeccably laid down. I am completely impressed with the way that David manages to pack so much story, see information, into the issue and yet not once does it feel like it’s rushed or overcrowded. It takes a fair amount of skill to be able to this the way we see it here. The character development is sensational and seeing how the characters act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter help to continually flesh them out. The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way we get pulled deeper and deeper into their lives.

The way that we see this being structured and how the layers within continue to grow and new ones emerge it creates this tension filled atmosphere that you don’t want to go away. There is also the way we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow which is spectacular as you get to the last and wonder wait there’s not more today?

I am really enjoying the interior artwork we see here. Yes I do wish we’d see more backgrounds being utilised as I do think they add a lot to the moments and fleshing the state of this world. The composition within the panels is extraordinary which tends to make up for a number of the blank backgrounds. The linework is really nice and how we see the varying weights being utilised to bring out the detail work that we see superb. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a strong and extremely talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is beautifully rendered. I like seeing the various techniques we see in how its being laid down and that photograph on the first page is stunning to me. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work did so much for the atmosphere of the story.

For me this marks David’s arrival in a huge way. This story is sensational and from concept through its execution we’re see the next generation emerge and make his stamp upon the industry. Everyone involved here is doing amazing work and yes I include the lettereding here as well and just reinforces my belief that Aftershock finds the best and brightest.