Welcome Back to NEW NUMBER ONES!
If you are new here, this column is designed to bring you reviews of new comic book series that came out this week. We will try to focus on independent and original series for the most part. This week we have two books for you. They are from Boom! Studios, and Image Comics.
You will usually find the books that we review in this space on our month list of New Number Ones. As the distribution of new comics is still getting underway, expect a monthly look ahead for July’s new series.
The books this week are both original series which is refreshing. There are so many fantastic ideas out there, and we are thrilled when new characters and stories are published.
This week we will bring you our thoughts on: A Man Among Ye#1, and Wynd #1
Check out the reviews below in alphabetical order:
A Man Among Ye #1
Image Comics
Written by Stephanie Phillips
Art by Craig Cermak
Colors by Brittany Pezzillo
Letters by Troy Peteri
Cover Art by Cermak
Wow! Stephanie Phillips continues to grow as a writer. We have chronicled her previous books and appreciated them. Often there are historical or quasi-historical themes in her stories, and that continues with this book. However, I want to take time to pay attention to the character work in this book. The dialogue helps the personalities of the characters come through clearly, and the pacing and scene construction results in a lively and intriguing story. The story is an attempt to delve into the legend and myth surrounding notorious female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Craig Cermak has created a beautiful looking glass into early 18th century Caribbean life. The fluidity of movement and facial expressions bring life to the page. Brittany Pezzillo does a wonderful job with the colors, especially the open ocean skies. The work of Troy Peteri on the lettering is very important to the success of the book. Phillips is not extremely wordy and Peteri finds the perfect placement for word balloons to maximize the art while also using the lettering to add timbre and emotion to the dialogue. This book is off to a fantastic start.
NOTE: Check out the Pop Culture SquadCast interview that we did with Stephanie Phillips where she talks about her inspiration for this book.
Wynd #1
Boom! Studios
Written by James Tynion IV
Art by Michael Dialynas
Letters by Aditya Bidikar
Cover Art by Dialynas
The short turnaround on the announcement of this book to actually having it published is pretty rare lately. The lack of time to hype the book has not diminished the early praise and excitement that it has generated. The most important point is that it is not just hype. This book delivers a new, interesting world with intriguing plotlines and engaging characters. It is a beautiful book. The soft and cartoony style of Michael Dialynas puts the reader in a comfortable state, but as the book unfolds there are important themes explored that belie the pleasant visual narrative. This book feels like something James Tynion has been building towards. The structure of this issue is exploratory and introductory. The fact that there is not an opening monologue explaining the setting and history, empowers the reader be the detective to understand what is going on while jumping headlong into the plot. We are eagerly anticipating more excellent storytelling from this series.
DISCLAIMER:
We use a 4 star rating system. It is simple and not to be taken too seriously. Everyone has their own impressions of art. These ratings are just to give our readers an idea of what we thought of the book, and they will be on the generous side, normally. So don’t expect to see a lot of 1 Stars. After all, it’s not often that you have a bad book on your pull-list.
The rating system is as follows:
Good
OK
