Legenderry #1

Writer Bill Willingham Artist Sergio Davila

Introduction

Previous Dynamite crossovers such as Masks and Prophecy have been a lot of fun, and now Legenderry seeks to continue the tradition. Bill Willingham is a great talent that should be able to contribute some really fascinating work to the book. Coming off of Fables, the writer is going to contribute this one last piece of work to Dynamite while he finishes off that other series. The bottom line is that those that are hungry for Willingham writing can get their fix here. The book is set to combine The Phantom, Green Hornet, Vampirella, The Bionic Man, and Red Sonja all under one title. This is going to be a crowded house, so who knows how Willingham and company are going to deal with so many characters in one comic book. It will also be interesting to see how the book will handled through a Steampunk Setting. Having all of the different heroes interact within the confines of the bizarre environment seems like it will be right up the alley of Willingham.

Writing

There is a string of narration that brings readers up to speed with the comic, it also provides a clear entry point into the world. I have never read a series featuring Vampirella before, as the character makes me think that she is some kind of joke, due to how little clothes that she wears. Willingham does a great job making her seem relatable, yet still having her shed some clothes in an amusing manner. It makes the comic book feel classy in the best way possible. The book chooses to unveil the different characters slowly, in order to give readers room to digest the two heroine that are extremely well written on the latter pages of this story. The Sonja character is handled with grace in the same vein as Vampirella. Willingham dials back the silliness that is inherently contained within the book, and plays up some of the more dramatic elements.

Art

Sergio Davila has a really clean style with some lush and exciting backgrounds. Few artists give as much attention to lush detail, as Davila does here. His art seems like it will be getting the attention of the big two, if they are ever interested. Facial expressions are very clean, and readers can clearly tell each different individual apart here. Line work is clean, and the colors from Wes Hartman offer a great different look at each aspect of the book. The palette changes with things like mood or scene, that makes the book very easy to read. Steampunk elements are tackled with apparent ease from the penciller. Small hats and fancy dresses are taken advantage of in an incredibly precise manner. There is a battle sequence here involving one of the femme fatales that is lovingly rendered in a gorgeous splash page giving readers a dynamic sense of movement, that sums up everything that is great about the artwork here.

Conclusion

Willingham and Davila provide some really interesting work here that should delight fans of the property on many levels. The steampunk environments mixed with the different heroes equates to some really fun comic books. The art is also lush and well depicted throughout the 24 pages.