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Review: Reaver #4

Nemesis

I’ve had my eye on Image Comic’s Reaver by Justin Jordan (Deathstroke, Shadowman) since it hit the shelves three issues ago. It is an interesting book that combines fantasy elements with classic “mission” based movies like The Dirty Dozen”.  In those movies, as in this book, a disparate groups of individuals is brought together either by circumstance or other authority and compelled to go on said mission in order to win something of value, often their freedom.  As i’m writing this I’ve come to the realization that the team in The Dirty Dozen was pretty much the first Suicide Squad.  I digress.  Jordan takes this concept and brings it backward and sideways, placing this version of the tale inside a transformed Conan or Dungeons and Dragons world which is interesting and possessing of promise.

The protagonists of this story are “Hell’s Half Dozen”, a collection of the worst criminals this world has to offer all kept prisoner by a nation in one side of a conflict.  This conflict is an existential one, painting the forces of good and law against the forces of barbarity and evil.  Good is losing. The side of evil has a hidden weapon, a weapon that is revealed in this issue by the way, and the Half Dozen are sent out eliminate this threat or die trying.  (Told you this was Suicide Squad in furs and metal)  Having spent three issues introducing themselves to the reader and forging forward as they come together as a team, this issue sees them reach their intended target and leaves us in the midst of that battle.

The writing here is well done if somewhat cliched at times.  However, given that this story form is so established and well traveled, it is difficult not to imagine some of the situations and dialogue not crossing over.  With that said, Jordan has created an interesting world around this version of the tale and I think it is worthy of  further examination once this series ends.  I want to know more about this world, the races that inhabit it and the conflict which has it in it’s grasp.  It is compelling.  That is a large part of the battle in any form of writing and Jordan has succeeded here.

This in turn brings us to the art in the book.  Let me say this right up front, the art and color are not bad.  But, you knew that word was coming, I don’t think the artwork lives up to the material and I would hope for a step up in quality for future works.  Rebekah Isaacs’ (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) presents solid line drawing and inking but, for a reason that is hard to put my finger on, something always seems slightly off or leaves me wanting more.  There are a few panels in this book where the anatomy, fore-shortening or architecture appear to be just the slightest bit off.  It is not so horrendous as to jump out and throttle you but it can be off-putting.  It took me a while to figure out and I had to go through each panel very carefully to spot those instances that were rubbing me the wrong way.  Additionally, many panels appear flat and not as dynamic as they could be because of the relatively light inking throughout.  It is another theme I hit on often but is is one that is dear to my heart, Don’t Be Afraid To Ink The Hell Out Of Your Work.  Over-inking can destroy good line work but all too often I see artwork that falls flat for lack of inking.  At times, I think that is the case here.

Alex Guimaraes (Bone Parish, Lord of the Jungle) is a colorist whose work I very much enjoy.  I think he has a great eye for color and his ability to put colors in the spots where they belong, a task that is harder than it sounds, is second to none.  That is true in this book as well and he uses washed out colors to great effect here to constantly remind you that the party is in the far north in this issue.  However, his work here is workmanlike and lacking in depth.  Unlike other works by Guimaraes that I have seen, this one lacks the depth of shading and blending that I know he is capable of and that fact contributes to the flattened looks of many of the panels.

So what are my final thoughts on the book.  It is a good book and that I enjoyed.  It can be a little bit frustrating to read this book at times because one senses it could be so much more with just that much more put into it.  That said, I can’t critique what-if’s and must look at what is put before me.  I would read this book to find out what is going to happen in the story but the entire product is not one that would inspire me to make this a “must own”.  It IS a solid piece of work though and I could easily understand those that would either overlook or disagree with me on the presentation and very much want to collect this series.

Writing – 4 of 5 Stars
Line Work – 3.5 of 5 Stars
Inking – 2 of 5 Stars
Color – 3 of 5 Stars

Overall Score – 3.25 of 5 Stars

Writing – Justin J0rdan
Art – Rebekah Isaacs
Color – Alex Guimaraes
Letters – Clayton Cowles

Author Profile

Nemesis
Nemesis is a poet, writer and author of the upcoming novel The Long Game. He is a writer of science fiction and supernatural thrillers. Besides novels and short stories he writes for UK based ASAP Comics developing new stories for Level 8 and OPSEC. Nem is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and tries to bring those experiences into his writing.

He lives and works out of his home in Riverside, California with his wife and three children. When not writing he enjoys reviewing comic books and graphic novels for ComicCrusaders.com and living the Southern California life with his family.
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