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.

Here at Pop Culture Squad, 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 we feature Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists #1 from Scout Comics.

You can find it at your LCS on August 5, 2020.

Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists #1
Scout Comics
Written by Eric Palicki
Art by Wendell Cavalcanti
Colors by Mark Dale
Letters by Shawn Lee
Cover Art by Caspar Wijngaard

Original Solicitation:

Lovecraft meets Sergio Leone in a modern tale of corruption, family legacies, and nightmarish dread. Lucas Lewis drifts into Atlantis County, Oregon wanting nothing more than a hot meal and a soft bed for the night. What he finds instead is a small town in thrall to eldritch creatures lurking in the surrounding wilderness, possibly guided by an even more sinister force. Lucas becomes determined to eradicate all Atlantis’s demons, but these monsters are not what they seem. Unfortunately for the monsters, neither is Lucas.

PCS Review:

I am hooked. This was a really fun read. Eric Palicki and Wendell Cavalcanti craft a ominous and foreboding mood to this comic. Palicki delivers sharp and economical dialogue, while Cavalcanti’s facial expressions go a long way toward furthering the character definitions of the two main characters in this issue. There is a lot of room to grow in this story, and as the solicitation suggests, Palicki has ambitious plans for it.  However, this single issue invites the reader into this small town and immediately exposes red flags. At the same time that the setting is being laid out, there is a feeling of concern for the protagonist that is being developed. When you get to the key change of this melody, you are fearing for his well being and hoping that he makes it out in one piece. That type of emotional involvement that is evoked from a debut issue generates the kind of staying power that I hope this series can sustain.

Cavalcanti and Mark Dale manage to supply a well designed visual narrative to this intriguing story. The interplay between light and shadow is critical to the feel and mood of the book. The panel shown here struck us as being superbly representative of what makes the book good. It is not a big splash, but it is well done and serves to heighten the tension in the book just the right amount.  Shawn Lee’s lettering is excellent in this issue as well. His work ties the panels together in unobtrusive ways that let the art shine and complete the book.

Do not sleep on this book. Scout Comics has done a great job of cultivating a nice stable of good comic storytelling over the last year or so, and we are looking forward to more.