Scout's Honor #3

Scout’s Honor #3

Aftershock Comics 2021

Written by David Pepose

Illustrated by Luca Casalanguida

Coloured by Matt Milla

Lettered by Carlos M. Mangual

Forced to confront her suspicions about Ranger Scout society, Kit undertakes the grueling Eagle’s Guard Trials on her quest for the truth — but standing in her path is Dez, the

Scoutmaster’s son and her oldest friend. And Dez is not going to let this badge of honor go without a fight….

Oh my stars and garters David really keeps ramping things up with each new issue. Last issue Dez kissed Kit and it was an awkward moment all around and after being rejected his characterisation is taken to a whole new level, which we’ll get into later. Meanwhile Kit really has to figure out what she’s going to do about the information she’s learned and how to take down a society based upon a religion, a Scout Bible as it were, that is as fake as they come. There are secrets galore within these pages and secrets always have a way of coming out when its least expected and will cause the greatest harm. At least that’s what I am counting on because there are so many things about this that are completely and utterly tension filled moments waiting to see the light.

I am such a huge fan of the way that 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 exceedingly well. There is this extreme cause and effect going on here that just keeps the reader riveted to the page. The character development that we see is utterly amazing. Dez alone has this whole aspect of entitlement to it that makes him look like this little petulant child throwing a temper tantrum. It’s great to read too because his secret and how he revealed this and its aftermath well once again you have to read this to fully appreciate it. The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through the pages it expands the story and this world beautifully.

How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow stronger and new ones emerge the story seems to take on a life of its own. With how everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow is marvellous.

The interiors here are absolutely beautiful! The linework that we see and how through the varying weights the detail work is brought about shows some really stupendous talent. The faces, facial expressions and body language that we see further fleshes out the characterisation as well and it’s great to see this. The way that we see backgrounds being utilised throughout, while it could be utilised more, really does a nice job in bringing us depth perception, a sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the layouts and how we see the angles and perspective within the panels show such an outstanding eye for storytelling. I am a big fan of the way that we see the colour work here as well. The choices that are made are interesting and add this zing and pop to the pages. The way various hues and tones are being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is some seriously good work.

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One of the things that I love is that every issue could be a great introduction to the series. While you need to read the entire series because it’s just that good you can pick up any issue and understand what is happening and leaving you with the desire to see, know and learn more.