White #5

White #5

Black Mask Studios 2021

Story by Kwanza Osajyefo

Design by Tim Smith 3

Pencils by Jamal Igle

Inks by Juan Castro

Tones by Derwin Roberson

Lettered by Dave Sharpe

President Mann makes a gamble to win his war against X and Juncture, but the stakes get even higher once his son Thaddeus ups the ante. With an upgrade to his suit, he may just have the power to do what his father never could - destroy all empowered Blacks.

That this is consistently one of the strongest books i’m reading and this is in terms of writing and artwork. Yeah there might be one or two things that don’t sit well with me but then it gets me thinking, talking and learning, oh and googling too, as I try to make some sense of what I am thinking and feeling. That’s what the best stories do, they engage the reader, educate them by helping them educate themselves and this story does that in spades. The Mann is trying to keep them down and yes it took me way too long for the double entendre to sink in. I do have to also ask, do the ends justify the means? There’s changing the system and forcing the system to change and while neither one is quick to happen are they same in the short run or is one considered better or more effective than the other? Told you I’m thoroughly engaged here.

I am loving 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 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 magnificent job in continuing fleshing out their personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story the more engaged, invested and intrigued we become.

I am very much appreciating the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I am also liking the way that these layers open up new avenues to explore. Doesn’t matter if these avenues are explored or not because they all add some 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.

The interiors here are honestly bloody phenomenal! The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality of detail within the work is extraordinary to see. We see some great use of backgrounds throughout the book, though we could see more, as they enhance and expand the moments they also work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels to show a brilliant eye for storytelling. The hues and tones are stunning! Everything we see here from the linework to the shading is extraordinarily brilliant work.

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I am so thoroughly impressed with this series. It has a social commentary and depth of storytelling that goes far beyond what we see on the surface. Each character feels like it’s own unique entity and nothing seems cookie cutter about them and with a large cast like this that’s more impressive than you realise. With such strong writing and intense characterisation wrapped up in these mindbogglingly brilliant interiors comes one of today’s most powerful reads.