The Courier: Liberty and Death #3

The Courier: Liberty and Death #3

Zenescope Entertainment 2021

Written by Ralph Tedesco

Illustrated by Oliver Borges

Coloured by Fran Gamboa & J.C. Ruiz

Lettered by Carlos M. Mangual

Eve arrives in time to help Morgan stave off a primal attack at the Penn compound, but are they outnumbered and undermanned? Meanwhile, in direct defiance of Liberty's Chancellor - his own sister - Gillings takes matters into his own hands and rides out to find his missing drugs. He has a feeling where they are, and things at the Penn compound are about to get even more explosive!

I have to say that this book is extremely fun to read. The idea that this is a post apocalyptic world that has been semi-rebuilt with this odd caste system full of those with the most might are in charge is one that engages the readers mind and imagination beautifully. While Eve did her best to stay neutral as a courier of great renown there still comes a time when you have to stand up for the folks who can’t do it for themselves, or are too afraid to as the case may be. Even though family has a tendency to muck things up a bit and what we see here, well that’s gonna make someone extremely sorry they did that.

I am enjoying 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 are presented extremely well. I’m digging the character development that we see as the dialogue goes hand-in-hand with the way we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances in which they encounter. Also it’s nice to see more of the Primals and a leader this issue as it makes them a tad more credible and much more threatening. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists & turns along the way we get an adrenaline rush as events unfold.

The way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story start to coalesce has a major impact on how this issue ends. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow is magnificent. Plus how we see this all works to constantly move the story forward is impressive as well.

I am loving the interiors here. The linework that we see is strong and clean and how the varying weights and techniques are being utilised to create the detail work that we see is really rather beautifully done. Whether it’s the Primals, the humans or whatnot the way we see faces and facial expressions further the characterisation that we see. Going hand-in-hand with that is the creativity and imagination that’s on display which is sublime. I am extremely pleased with the way that we see backgrounds utilised throughout the book and how they work within the composition of the panels to bring us depth perception, a sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the book while enhancing the moments. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is magnificent as well. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is rendered beautifully.

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This is one of those series where we are thrust into it at an undisclosed point in the future after society’s collapse and rebuilding. Without any knowledge to the world prior be given out either means that we get to discover this world through the eyes of its characters and personally I would much rather it be this way than have to sit through a lengthy backstory. Ralph has turned into a fine writer and storyteller able to convey through his words extremely well. I think this should be a staple series at Zenescope, cause it truly is one of the more interesting books on stands today.