I simply adored reading this. The back-and-forth between the inner dialogue of Oliver and the fight happening outside is fantastic and even though this is the first time reading this particular story I was enthralled right from the first page. The writing is quick, packed with action, and gives you an overall sense of the world the characters inhabit without having to go into boring details. It also helps that we get to see an in-depth look at the character’s pasts through flashbacks because it allows us to quickly grasp where we are and what is happening without so much as having to read any of the previous issues, which is fantastic. This is one of those comics that stands above and beyond for its masterful writing and equally masterful art. All that being said, after reading this issue I need to read the previous ones and whatever comes after this one, because I am engaged!
The action sequences are packed with real movement, the fights are dynamics and you can see through anger in the faces of these characters. There is no doubt about the skill that all the artists involved have. I particularly loved the character design of Diabolus but literally all the characters are super interesting to look at. From the headmaster to the awesome magical axe that appears in this story, everything is super interesting and incredibly detailed, and fun to look at. I also enjoyed how they are not afraid to break a few bones in this story, heck they’ll even take your whole arm off and show it to you. It is intense! It’s a quick read because it’s mostly images and narration bubbles but I love it. The writing is poignant and reads very clearly and is something that you would genuinely hear during a fight. Quick, unconvoluted expressions of hatred, what else would you imagine two incredibly strong magical warriors would say?
I also really appreciate the different colors of the caption boxes between Oliver and Vanish, it made it that much easier to figure out who was saying what and when. There is a couple of pages where we are going back and forth between panels featuring Vanish and they use a sort of glitched panel border that works wonderfully because it correlates to Oliver’s magical powers and the beast inside him. It felt fast, and anxiety-inducing which I can only imagine is what a person with a magical monster inside them would be feeling.
The lettering is fantastic, the colors are amazing, and the writing is wonderful! This is a great read and I am excited to read more about the world of Vanish. I was very interested in the magical school scenes because even though we’ve seen magical school environments explored in the past with comics like Strange Academy or Harry Potter, this one feels hardcore. This is like if Harry Potter held magical no holds barred matches instead of playing Quidditch. Three words that come to my mind to summarize this comic are; intense, bloody, and dramatic. It’s so good! I know I am very much raving at this point, but I just really enjoyed reading this. The bit at the end where Oliver’s love interest appears gave a wonderful reprive from all the action and even then it had me at the edge of my seat as Oliver was faced with a decision that would ultimately change his life forever.
5 Stars is the highest we can go, but between you and me, this is a 10/10 issue.
Writing: 5 Stars
Art: 5 Stars
Colors: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars
Created by; Ryan Stegman & Donny Cates
Illustrated by; Ryan Stegman & V Ken Marion
Coloring by; Sonia Oback
Lettering by; John J. Hill
Cover art by; Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer & Sonia Oback
Variant Covers by; Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer & Riley Rossmo
Published by; Image Comics
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