The Crimson Cage #1

Crimson Cage #1

AWA Upshot Studios 2021

Written by John Lees

Illustrated by Alex Cormack

Coloured by Ashley Cormack

Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Double double toil and rumble...Brace yourself for a No-Holds-Bard reimagining of William Shakespeare's Macbeth from the critically-acclaimed creators of Sink. New Orleans, 1984. Chuck Frenzy is the main event star of the local Louisiana pro wrestling territory, but yearns for something greater. A fateful encounter with a trio of terrifying beings in the Bayou gives Chuck a glimpse of championship glory beyond his wildest dreams...if he is willing to do something terrible to achieve it.

To be honest I usually avoid books that centre on wrestling, it is not my forte and I’m not a fan of the sport, if that’s what it is. However, this is being done in a way that merges it with Shakespeare AND it is done by some of my favourite creators so I knew that I had to read this. Thankfully you don’t need to know much about the sport to really enjoy this book. I was taken aback by how relatable that this is from a very different standpoint than I was expecting to see. Chuck wants to be a big fish in a big pond but he’s having trouble breaking into the big leagues so what happens to get him there well you will have to read the issue to find out for yourself.

I am very much a 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 are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a phenomenal job in establishing their personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages introducing the characters, the world they live in and the story itself is done with apparent ease.

I am very much enjoying the way that this is being structured and how the layers within the story begin to emerge and grow. I am also liking the way that we see the layers opening up new avenues to be explored. The opening page and what we see in the bayou along with the first interaction with the main event all add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

I love seeing Alex’s work here. The mood, tone and feel that we see on the opening page and in the bayou is brought to life with such aplomb and creepiness thanks to how Alex and Ashley are able to work together to create the right atmosphere for the wording and how we’re meant to see it. Alex has always been great at bringing people to life and with this book it is no exception and how we see these guys coming to life is superb. Though I will say we could’ve seen them both in the buff it would’ve been okay. We don’t really see as many backgrounds as I’d like but it is what it is. How we see the composition within the panels bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is marvellously 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 various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a great understanding of how colour works.

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Desire, determination and this unexpected world that opens up for Chuck is something you shouldn’t pass up seeing. There’s an incredibly solid and relatable story happening here and don’t let the wrestling package fool you; it's a great start to an interesting tale. The writing is intelligent and the characterisation is sharp and witty while the interiors perfectly set the mood, tone and feel for every single moment we see.