Hey there! Welcome to the latest installment of Preview Reviews. This is where we give advanced glimpses at some of the comics that will be coming out this Wednesday.
A reminder for you. Here at PopCultureSquad, we are decidedly anti-Spoiler. We feel that ruining someone’s experience with something for the sake of getting a scoop or clicks is the wrong thing to do. Therefore, we have decided to publish this column, as necessary, with mostly spoiler-free reviews of upcoming issues. Hopefully, the information that we share with you will increase your excitement for these books.
This week’s preview comic is Bitter Root from David Walker, Chuck Brown and Sanford Greene, published by Image Comics. PCS had the opportunity to talk to Brown and Greene at Baltimore ComicCon this year, and they were very excited about this new endeavor. Needless to say we were eagerly looking forward to getting our hands on this book. Continue reading below to find out what we thought of it.
BITTER ROOT #1
Image Comics
Created by David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, Sanford Greene
Colors by Rico Renzi & Greene
Letters by Clayton Cowles
Cover Art by Greene & Jarreau Wimberly
Official Solicitation:
In the 1920s, the Harlem Renaissance is in full swing, and only the Sangerye Family can save New York—and the world—from the supernatural forces threatening to destroy humanity. But the once-great family of monster hunters has been torn apart by tragedies and conflicting moral codes. The Sangerye Family must heal the wounds of the past and move beyond their differences… or sit back and watch a force of unimaginable evil ravage the human race.
PCS Review:
This book is one of the best new series of the year. The creative team has developed and installed a immediately accessible cast of characters. It is difficult to choose a favorite because they are all so compelling. The family setting of the primary characters is warm and inviting, regardless of commonplace family bickering. The fact that this family is a group of monster hunters is secondary, but not to be discounted. There is really so much going on in terms of interpersonal dynamics and the crazy monster hunting that it is remarkable that it was all fit into just twenty-four pages.
Sanford Greene is on his game here. The slightly rough, slightly cartoonish style is absolutely perfect for this book. The physical characterizations are wonderful. His monsters are pretty bad-ass. The limited and muted color pallet choices with black panel outlines are inspired. There is really nothing to complain about regarding the art in this book. It is excellent.
As we noted earlier, we were given a “Head’s Up” about this book by the creators, to say that the book exceeded our already high expectations is an understatement. Issue two cannot get here soon enough for us. We can highly recommend everyone go out and get this book. It has action, internal character conflict, a good story, smart dialogue, and fantastic art. A big win for the people involved in bringing this story to the public.
