Extremity #1
Extremity #1
Writing and Art: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colors: Mike Spicer
Letters: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image / Skybound
The equally gruesome and wondrous Extremity, a new Skybound series from Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer and Rus Wooton makes a stellar, gritty and ultimately compelling debut here, even if it is slightly overwhelming.
We’re thrust into a world of techno-primal laden warfare where high-tech speeder bikes and axes intermingle in an intriguingly well-honed aesthetic. Thea, a young woman who has lost everything at the hands of a warring tribe or faction of sorts, seeks revenge for the death of her mother as well as the loss of her arm. It seems like traditional action comic fodder, but is setup well here, relying on natural conversation between characters, namely Thea’s brother and father, as opposed to some gratuitously overdone grim dark narration about her thirst for revenge. It works, establishing in equal measure the characters as well as the world, a kind of interconnected series of floating islands, they live in.
Johnson’s artistic endeavor in this first issue, akin to his work in Ghost Fleet and Space Mullet, also mostly succeeds. The visuals are fast, hard and raw feeling. Violence is visceral, personal and effective if slightly gratuitous in a way that Johnson has proven time and time again he has masterful control over like few others drawing today. Spicer’s color choices are also refreshing, a blend of darks and lights in effective interplay. Especially eye opening are the pages where pinks and purples play lead, beautiful tableaux accompanied by Johnson’s exquisitely detailed world.
Unfortunately, the page layout leaves something to be desired, amidst all the overwhelming art, I felt slightly lost. A lot happens per page and the layout doesn’t convey, concisely or logically what is happening – who is where, how scenes are playing out. It’s a minor issue, usually rectified by a second look, but one that’s slightly more than distracting.
Ultimately, then, the issue is a strong one. As equally strong as our apparent heroine. It falters slightly, but not enough to detract. Thea’s journey forward, it seems, is going to be fraught with concise dialogue and compelling, masterful art at the hands of a very capable creative time. I don’t know where she might end up, but I’m along for the ride.
Writing and Art: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colors: Mike Spicer
Letters: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image / Skybound
The equally gruesome and wondrous Extremity, a new Skybound series from Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer and Rus Wooton makes a stellar, gritty and ultimately compelling debut here, even if it is slightly overwhelming.
We’re thrust into a world of techno-primal laden warfare where high-tech speeder bikes and axes intermingle in an intriguingly well-honed aesthetic. Thea, a young woman who has lost everything at the hands of a warring tribe or faction of sorts, seeks revenge for the death of her mother as well as the loss of her arm. It seems like traditional action comic fodder, but is setup well here, relying on natural conversation between characters, namely Thea’s brother and father, as opposed to some gratuitously overdone grim dark narration about her thirst for revenge. It works, establishing in equal measure the characters as well as the world, a kind of interconnected series of floating islands, they live in.
Johnson’s artistic endeavor in this first issue, akin to his work in Ghost Fleet and Space Mullet, also mostly succeeds. The visuals are fast, hard and raw feeling. Violence is visceral, personal and effective if slightly gratuitous in a way that Johnson has proven time and time again he has masterful control over like few others drawing today. Spicer’s color choices are also refreshing, a blend of darks and lights in effective interplay. Especially eye opening are the pages where pinks and purples play lead, beautiful tableaux accompanied by Johnson’s exquisitely detailed world.
Unfortunately, the page layout leaves something to be desired, amidst all the overwhelming art, I felt slightly lost. A lot happens per page and the layout doesn’t convey, concisely or logically what is happening – who is where, how scenes are playing out. It’s a minor issue, usually rectified by a second look, but one that’s slightly more than distracting.
Ultimately, then, the issue is a strong one. As equally strong as our apparent heroine. It falters slightly, but not enough to detract. Thea’s journey forward, it seems, is going to be fraught with concise dialogue and compelling, masterful art at the hands of a very capable creative time. I don’t know where she might end up, but I’m along for the ride.
A Look Inside
