Seven Secrets #09

Seven Secrets #09

BOOM! Studios 2020

Written by Tom Taylor

Illustrated by Daniele Di Nicuolo

Coloured by Walter Baiamonte

Colour Assists by Katia Ranalli

Lettered by Ed Dukeshire

With the first secret revealed and the world now watching, how much longer will the Order's remaining members be able to remain hidden?

* Casper and the surviving Keepers and Holders retreat once more to a remote safehouse, even as Amon and the Seekers close in on them. Can the Order survive with a mole in their midst?

This has to be the most underrated series on stands today and it has a loyal audience. It is so well written and illustrated as we see these secret organisations each with their own purpose trying to stay one step ahead of the other. The Seeker’s and Amon want the secrets that our heroes have so they can rule the world simple as that, well not so simple but you have to read the series to see and understand the full scope of their desires. This has a way of engaging the reader and getting them invested in the story as you either root for one group or the other, yes there are those who would root for the so-called bad guys. Still that I am engaged to such a level it makes the think about stuff that is beyond what we see on the page and if you do that then you should realise just how well written the story is.

I love 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. The character development is phenomenal and this is tanks to the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances that they encounter. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story along with secrets and revelations it leaves the reader glued to the pages.

The interiors here are absolutely fantastic! The linework we see is fabulous and how the varying weights and techniques are utilised to create the detail work that we see is marvellous. I love the style of the work that we see too as it kind of blends traditional comic book style with this idea of Western Manga and creates something truly unique to Daniele. That we see backgrounds utilised as we do is magnificent as they enhance the moments and then how we see them work within the composition in the panels to bring us depth perception, a sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story is delightfully rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is equally as brilliant. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is absolutely bloody beautifully rendered.

There is something truly different and amazing about this series. The way that the writing and the artwork are able to work in such synchronicity with each other elevates the reading experience to fabulous heights. While the idea is familiar how its being executed and with the diverse group of characters that we see and meet make this a one-of-a-kind book. With Amon furious at what’s happened and our group on the run and a new keeper of secrets being chosen things are about to heat up to new levels that will test the groups resolve and trust in one another even more.

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With some of today’s strongest writing and characterisation that’s filled with action, drama and intrigue which is wrapped up in these phenomenal interior make Seven Secrets one of today’s most interesting reads.