Ei8ht #1 Review
The Facts:
This comic uses a colour scheme to depict its time frame. Green represents the past, purple the present, blue the future and creamy orange distinguishes “The Meld” from the other time points.
This comic is written by Rafael Albuquerque and Mike Johnson with art and colours by Rafael Albuquerque.
Pros:
Albuquerque's artwork is breathtaking! The stunning visuals and beautiful colour that establish the time frame make this comic a joy to read and look at.
Albuquerque's line art is incredibly detailed and has a lot of expression. The facial rendering is particularly strong and allows you to build an idea of the characters emotional state without having it spelled out in the text. The artwork is spontaneous and there is a good sense of depth and movement during the action scenes.
The use of 5 vivid colours not only sets up the time frame, it also allows the detailed artwork to shine through without being overwhelmed by colour.
I enjoy being in the same boat as the main character. Due to his memory loss, the reader essentially learns about the world at the same time he does. It makes for an engaging story and you feel all of his disorientation as he tries to understand this puzzling world.
Cons:
The story moves along at a fast pace and I almost feel like they tried to pack a little too much into the first issue. The speed of the storyline made it difficult to build a rapport with the main character.
There are a couple of panels where the otherwise excellent colour scheme becomes confusing.
Overall: 8.0/10
The artwork is striking. Albuquerque is a phenomenal artist and his imagery captivates the mind and evokes plenty of emotional response.
The story is pretty strong for a first issue and I like the nonlinear style. I hope for more character development in the next issue because I think this main character is someone I’d like to get to know better.
