The Eighth Immortal #1

The Eighth Immortal #1

Source Point Press 2021

Written by Jacob Murray

Illustrated by Alice Li Barnes

Lettered by Letter Squids

Special Thanks to Troy Peteri

Curipan has spent her immortality protecting humanity from the threat of an ancient prophecy. But time and a secret trauma have worn her down, forcing her to choose between her duty and her sanity. The Eighth Immortal is a scandalous fantasy that asks the question, should anything last forever?

Y’all are more than likely overlooking the books at Source Point Press and that’s a shame because I am here to tell you that this should be one everyone’s lips right now. This is a beautifully done book both with it’s visuals and how we see it being written. The concept is fantastic and the fact that we are dealing with immortals who have a code that causes issues for our main character, in this issue at least, paints a different viewpoint of what it means to be immortal under their circumstances. It has a nice strong message to it as it also takes a really hard look at humanity and what that means to different people and it is not something you will forget anytime soon after reading this.

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 exceptionally well. The two openings here are spectacularly done and from the brief synopsis of what the story is about and how we meet Curipan for the first time sets the stage for what is going to become something akin to that ghost story you’ll never be able to hide from. The character development that we see is phenomenal! There is this depth and complexity to the characters we meet that is at odds with each other and we see this through how they interact with one another and others. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, this world and the characters you know, you know that with each turn of the page there’s no place you’d rather be.

The way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story begin to emerge and how all of this has cause and effect that will undoubtedly reveal itself later is so exquisitely done. How everything manages to work together to create the story’s ebb & flow is amazing to see.

The interiors here are utterly beautiful. The work reminds of me Area 88, a Comico title that I adored in the 80’s, that introduced to me to the manga style of artwork. Now this has that and a fusion of Western sensibilities so it’s what I now refer to as American Manga and good golly miss molly is it ever so lovely to look at. Now the black and white style that is prominent throughout the book showcases such talent and skill. The linework is exquisitely rendered and how the varying weights are utilised to create the detail work is superb. Now normally this is where I say I would like to see more backgrounds but honestly with the way we see the composition within the panels is so good that it all stands on it’s own and I wouldn’t change a single thing we see here. 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 pops of colour are brilliantly utilised and to see the hues and tones within them really makes moments pop so much more powerfully.

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The creativity and imagination that we see alongside such a stunning use of words and lettering makes this one of the best books you could read this week, or any week you read it. Source Point Press has gone from this small press publishing house to a power player in the world of comics and it’s books like this one that demonstrate just why that is.