Review: Under York #1 (of 6)

Being from the north east of England, when I see a book called Under York, that contains magic, demons and history, I have to assume that the new book form Image is based in the town fifty-odd miles south of me. But no, York, this time around is New York, so good they named it twice. Who would have thought that the moniker of “the city that never sleeps” applied to warlock, witches and demons as well as the dearth of humanity that call the Big Apple home?

Burger flipper by day and up-and-coming artist by night, Alison Walker is having something of a day. Dealing with customers, a flatmate who’s support is passionate but mis-placed and a possible love interest all culminate in her first art show, complete with all the trapping of near celebrity. But who is stalking her and why do things get a little hentai?

Written by Sylvain Runberg, the book runs on different tracks, meaning that there are different speeds in play for the the storytelling. Quick set-ups lead into table setting before chaos again leads to further details and ramifications. Thats a lot of plates to spin; Runberg keeps them all on go, with nary a break with impacts from previous pages showing up later in the book. I love this level of detail as it demonstrates that there is a larger plot in place. The series is six issues long, so I do wonder if Runberg can keep the pace going for the whole run? Sooner or later the characters will need to take a breath! The dialogue works well, if a little cheesy in places; I am assuming that is in order to world, or should that be worlds, build.

The art is supplied by fan favourite creator Mirka Andolfo, seen most recently in Sweet Paprika as writer / artist. I loved the first issue of Paprika, but things got too chaotic for me. Here, with a writer kind of calling the shots, Andolfo produces a more contained, almost controlled art style, until all the tentacles at least! Fans of Andolfo’s curvy characters will not be disappointed as Alison is a babe, surrounded by the usual cartoony elements that have become a signature of Andolfo’s work. Adding further control to the art is inker Carmelo Zagaria who uses heavy lines to bring the characters from out of the background. Colors are provided by Piky Hamilton who does a great job in all the realms that appear throughout the book, be they demonic possession, burger van, art studio or Under York itself. Both Zagaria and Hamilton work for Arancia Studio which may explain how well they work together. Finally letters are provided by Fabio Amelia, who does a fantastic job with dialogue placement, considering how wordy the book is, the pace of the storytelling never waivers.

Its a fact that I am not a huge horror / magic fan. That said, there is enough going on in this book to entertain throughout. The characters work, there is a real threat and there is a level of complexity to events. Andolfo’s fans will see that that this books sells well.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Sylvain Runberg
Art by; Mirka Andolfo
Inks by; Carmelo Zagaria
Colors by; Piky Hamilton
Letters by; Fabio Amelia
Published by; Image Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network