Nocterra #3 Review
Writer – Scott Snyder
Art – Tony Daniel
Colors – Tomeu Morey
Letters – ANDWORLD DESIGN
A new month brings along with it another exciting issue of the new creator owned series Nocterra from Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel. After a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign to help fund the series, Nocterra has taken the comic world by storm and has climbed up the sales ladder under its publisher, Image Comics. Going into this series, I had high hopes since it was created by the genius minds of Snyder and Daniel but so far it has exceeded any expectations I had and has become one of my favorite stories from Snyder (so far anyway) ranking up there right behind his New 52 Batman run and beating out his other Image series, UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY.
Nocterra #3 opens up with Val narrorating, giving readers another look into her past before the big PM hit. In classic Snyder fashion, he gives a little pieces at a time that ultimately will create a bigger picture but also helps set the tone of the current story. Val reflects on the kids in her past and how they were terrible to her but later on were introduced to the concept of prayer to a higher being and how there belief in something that may not even be real, transformed their character which Val believes to be non sense. As the story goes on, we are thrown right into the action of a high speed pursuit which follows the last issue as Val and company are being chased by the stories antagonist, Black Top Bill is after them. The events of the chase really crank up the excitement and energy of the story which then takes a pretty emotional turn where we then learn a bit more about Black Top Bill and why he is after the Doc Val has been transporting. Snyder gives us a bit more dialogue from Bill in this issue that gives readers a deeper sense of his true nature and just how dark and dangerous he truly is. While I’m a fan of adult language used to set a tone in a mature comic, I feel like Snyder may have gone a little overboard with Bill and his use of the F word to where it is almost silly instead of menacing but it does help with the defining of the character in a sense of his lack of filter and thinking before he speaks which makes him even more of a loose canon. The story then comes back around to Vals original thoughts on belief as she reflects on how even though something may have been made up to begin with, faith can be made real by the actions of those who who do believ. It’s a really deep sentiment that Snyder uses as the basis of this issue and really got me thinking outside of the story about putting faith into action and was a really cool experience for me. It’s always an incredible experience when you can read a comic book that is just meant for entertainment and take something away from it that you can reflect on in real life and it’s been awhile since I e read a Snyder story that made me do that which speaks to just how much love is going into Nocterra.
The art of the issue is almost impossible to review without using the normal, wow, stunning, beautiful, ut damn, Tony S. Daniel really has out done all of his previous works in this series and this is coming from me who was a HUGE fan of his Deathstroke run and thought that series was his best work. The line art is flawless and perfect and his character designs really amplify that realistic tone while keeping it grounded as comic art. Just a phenomenal job all around and I’ll leave it at that before I start boring you with those words I mentioned before. The zcolors by Tomeu Morey reflect the same amount of detail as Daniel’s line art and really is the icing on the cake that brings this dark, yet vivid world to life. Brilliant darks and vivid highlights bring the world to life before your eyes and gives the art the emotion of the story. Just a dynamic art team all around.
Overall, Nocterra #3 combines action and excitement together with emotion and purpose and challenges the readers views of faith and putting it into action combines with a sensational art team that brings the story to life before the readers eyes, creating a truly immersive experience you will get lost in and not want to put down. Nocterra continues to develop and cement its place among some of the best series out there and is in my opinion the best work Snyder has done in years.
Nocterra #3 is available now so make sure you pick it up and add it to the top of your read pile because it’s one you don’t want to wait on! Let us know what you thought of the issue by leaving your comments down below!
-Wes Greer
Art – Tony Daniel
Colors – Tomeu Morey
Letters – ANDWORLD DESIGN
A new month brings along with it another exciting issue of the new creator owned series Nocterra from Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel. After a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign to help fund the series, Nocterra has taken the comic world by storm and has climbed up the sales ladder under its publisher, Image Comics. Going into this series, I had high hopes since it was created by the genius minds of Snyder and Daniel but so far it has exceeded any expectations I had and has become one of my favorite stories from Snyder (so far anyway) ranking up there right behind his New 52 Batman run and beating out his other Image series, UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY.
Nocterra #3 opens up with Val narrorating, giving readers another look into her past before the big PM hit. In classic Snyder fashion, he gives a little pieces at a time that ultimately will create a bigger picture but also helps set the tone of the current story. Val reflects on the kids in her past and how they were terrible to her but later on were introduced to the concept of prayer to a higher being and how there belief in something that may not even be real, transformed their character which Val believes to be non sense. As the story goes on, we are thrown right into the action of a high speed pursuit which follows the last issue as Val and company are being chased by the stories antagonist, Black Top Bill is after them. The events of the chase really crank up the excitement and energy of the story which then takes a pretty emotional turn where we then learn a bit more about Black Top Bill and why he is after the Doc Val has been transporting. Snyder gives us a bit more dialogue from Bill in this issue that gives readers a deeper sense of his true nature and just how dark and dangerous he truly is. While I’m a fan of adult language used to set a tone in a mature comic, I feel like Snyder may have gone a little overboard with Bill and his use of the F word to where it is almost silly instead of menacing but it does help with the defining of the character in a sense of his lack of filter and thinking before he speaks which makes him even more of a loose canon. The story then comes back around to Vals original thoughts on belief as she reflects on how even though something may have been made up to begin with, faith can be made real by the actions of those who who do believ. It’s a really deep sentiment that Snyder uses as the basis of this issue and really got me thinking outside of the story about putting faith into action and was a really cool experience for me. It’s always an incredible experience when you can read a comic book that is just meant for entertainment and take something away from it that you can reflect on in real life and it’s been awhile since I e read a Snyder story that made me do that which speaks to just how much love is going into Nocterra.
The art of the issue is almost impossible to review without using the normal, wow, stunning, beautiful, ut damn, Tony S. Daniel really has out done all of his previous works in this series and this is coming from me who was a HUGE fan of his Deathstroke run and thought that series was his best work. The line art is flawless and perfect and his character designs really amplify that realistic tone while keeping it grounded as comic art. Just a phenomenal job all around and I’ll leave it at that before I start boring you with those words I mentioned before. The zcolors by Tomeu Morey reflect the same amount of detail as Daniel’s line art and really is the icing on the cake that brings this dark, yet vivid world to life. Brilliant darks and vivid highlights bring the world to life before your eyes and gives the art the emotion of the story. Just a dynamic art team all around.
Overall, Nocterra #3 combines action and excitement together with emotion and purpose and challenges the readers views of faith and putting it into action combines with a sensational art team that brings the story to life before the readers eyes, creating a truly immersive experience you will get lost in and not want to put down. Nocterra continues to develop and cement its place among some of the best series out there and is in my opinion the best work Snyder has done in years.
Nocterra #3 is available now so make sure you pick it up and add it to the top of your read pile because it’s one you don’t want to wait on! Let us know what you thought of the issue by leaving your comments down below!
-Wes Greer
A Look Inside
