Review: A Man Among Ye #1

There are many different genres out in comic book world.Â True, superheroes take up the biggest chunk.Â But amongst the various horror books, mature only books, the tie-ins and the sheer number of small press books, there is an interesting “almost historical” section that relies on some facts, with some fiction thrown in for good measure.Â It is to this wind that A Man Among Ye sets it’s sail.

The book follows a female pirate, Anne Bonny and her captain the infamous Calico Jack as they plunder the Caribbean seas.Â After scuttling a British vessel, the pair share the bounty with the crew; though some are not as welcoming to the idea of a female on board, especially as they feel she gets better treatment than they do!Â Along with the hard won coin, other treasures may be in store, though I suspect the trailing waters are not the only difficulties that lie in wait for Anne.

Stephanie Phillips has been on a bit of rise of late.Â Her historical crime series, The Butcher of Paris was an excellent book, covering again that almost historical element; though it has to be said, there were a lot more facts than fictions.Â Here, whilst Anne Bonny has her place in history, no-one can substantiate much.Â Phillips however, focus on key parts that are facts, pirates in the Caribbean, society’s distaste for women on ships to name a couple.Â Pirate stories may seem old hat, but there is life in the old sea dog.Â Phillips takes the time to build on the characters, giving the reader an idea of who is who and what is what, in a relatively short space of time.Â This is important for the story to progress whilst not solely focusing on the social injustices of this world.Â In her way, Anne is fighting the establishment on two fronts; by being a pirate sh is striking out against the British Empire and as a woman, she taking on board the prejudices within her chosen lifestyle.Â Phillips’ dialogue works well, even if the “I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning” seems a little anachronistic.

The art is provided by Craig Cermak who delivers a clean, smooth pencil look, especially around the faces of the characters.Â What I think I like the best, is that every face seem to have worth to Cermak.Â Too many artists tend to focus on the main characters only; that is not the case here as every interaction has worth.Â The lines remind me of Alan Davis or Adam Hughes.Â For the most part, the poses are fine though there are a couple of panels where bodies seem too small for heads and Cermak can go from full bodied to a more angular style at times, which I found a bit odd.Â The colors of the bookÂ are supplied by Brittany Pezzillo.Â Here Pezzillo generates a richness to proceeding that is simply gorgeous.Â Finally, letterer Troy Peteri goes for an off-kilter style of font which suits the books era well.

I admit that pirate books are not my cup of tea.Â The closest I get to pirates is the Captain Hook’s party boat in Cancun, Mexico, (but that’s a whole different story).Â Still, I do know the quality of writing that Stephanie Phillips brings into play.Â Here, she does not disappoint in any way, shape or form.Â I am interested to see the on gong travels of Anne Bonny.

Writing – 5 Stars

Art – 4 Stars

Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Stephanie Phillips
Art by; Craig Cermak
Colors by; Brittany Pezzillo
Letters by; Troy Peteri
Published by; Image Comics / Top Cow Studios

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