Advance Review: Sunstone – Mercy Volume #1

The world of Sunstone is revisited later this month as Stjepan Sejic expands on his own “Ally-verse”.  This time around, rather than focus on Ally and Lisa, we instead get a further introspection on Ally’s other major partner in crime; Alan and his love Anne, casting light on a totally different relationship.

In this volume we get a bit of a history lesson.  Sure, we know from previous books that Ally and Alan have history hinting at how that began and to some extent, how it ended.  What’s missing is the vital piece in the middle that made them both who they are.  Throw in Anne’s own journey of discovery and you have a story that is more disparate than similar to previous volumes.  It’s a love story; for those expecting the same beats as Sunstone, at first glance you may be disappointed; keep an open mind as in most things, it is the journey that is more exciting than the destination.

Stjepan Sejic is the man who is the sole creator again and once again pulls every duty as creator, writer, artist, colourist and letterer.  Taking the writing first; from the first page it’s clear the Sejic is on top form, teasingly going back to his monster art  roots before returning to “scheduled programming”.  With the book mainly focused on the past, and in large parts Alan and Anne, Sejic recognises that he needs a frame of some sort to tie his story together.  Up steps Ally, the most improbable sub imagined;  look up “domming from the bottom” and you get the idea.  Both Alan and Ally are taking the steps of who we know they are and what they mean to each other.  Take note Mr Lucas, this is how you tell a prequel successfully where future events have already been explored.  As fun as this  slice of Alan and Ally is, it’s the insight of Anne’s early love that adds something totally new to the book.  Between the four, Sejic ponders and displays the newness of both relationships, the hilarity that comes from intimate relationships covering the times taken to fixing your own rope harness to the itchiness of shaving in “special places” through to the frailties of the casts’ confidence as it grows and wanes, all wrapped in a rope bow, at times.

The art for the book is glorious.  It’s evident that the colors are going to be fantastic.  In this volume Sejic gets to play with a variety of locations ranging from college dorm rooms, a campus, a bar and more than a few concerts.  The almost big brush strokes gives the book a real world feel that “colouring insides the lines” would not have achieved.  The lines uses for the characters, at least in comparison to the earlier books, seem a little less polished, which add to the idea that these characters are still on their respective journeys; the polished look is for when they actually get there.  Where Sejic does excel is the art of body language and facial elements that create those believable emotion pieces; Ally’s recognition of her own needs and Anne’s reaction to be told she is playing dress up are both moments that perfectly reflect real emotions, imbuing these characters with a life, a soul that is seldom seen in comic books.

It is no secret that I am a Stjepan Sejic fan, after all I even read Aquaman and Sucide Squad when he was on those books and everyone knows how much I dislike Harley!  This book goes to show that in Ally, Sejic has his focal point, a character so strong that no matter how hard you try, she will dominate any story, though in a very human way and I can not wait to see how this prequel expands to cover part of the original Sunstone to give us the ending that I and many fans are hoping for.

Sunstone – Mercy Part 1 is scheduled for release on March 20th and please click here to list to an  Outside the Panels interview with Mr Sunstone Stejpan Sejic

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

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Created by; Stejpan Sejic
Published by Image / Top Cow

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

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