THE MERCENARY SEA No. 1, February 2014 |
Ordinarily
I am not really that much of a fan of any comic book artwork which approximates ‘cel
shading’ or purveys an atmosphere of storyboard-like animation. But frankly Mathew
Reynolds’ front page illustration alone is worth this “Image Comics” cover
price. It is truly eye-catching and despite being quite minimalistic in its composition,
that is a lone tall standing stone protruding out of the sea, there is plenty
to excite the reader’s imagination. Whether that be the shadowy shape of a
submarine dodging sea mines in shark-infested waters, or the single Japanese
sentry about to be shot by a scuba-gear wearing assassin who would not look out
of place plastered over an old “Rolling Thunder” arcade game cabinet.
It is
perhaps therefore understandable that Kel Symons’ story “Nice Work if You Can
Get It” does not quite live up to such heady expectations but the plot to Issue
1 of “The Mercenary Sea” still has plenty of surprises within it, and really
does establish the central character, Captain Jack Harper as a cross between pulp
fiction luminaries Doc Savage and Indiana Jones. There are some nice nods to
other cult classics as well such as Toby’s knife point removal of a venomous
crawler from the neck of the Frenchman, Jarreau (a la “Predator”) and the submariner’s
notable book collection which contains such adventurous novels as “Treasure
Island”, “Robinson Crusoe”, “Tarzan” and “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea”; not
forgetting his prized “King Kong” film print.
Admittedly the writing is though a
little clunky in places. Perhaps most notably when the spy Mister Taylor usefully
provides the reader with a brief synopsis of each of the comic’s main cast
members when he starts reciting from their dossiers whilst in a night club.
Reynolds’
artwork is equally as ‘hit and miss’ at times when it comes to his interior artwork. One
moment illustrating a fantastically atmospheric jungle beach landing, complete
with palm tree silhouettes and fading sun. The next depicting an exchange
between fellow crew members with a series of panels within which the line art
becomes increasingly thick and ugly. Almost as if far smaller drawings have simply been manipulated
and enlarged electronically. Indeed the artist’s work seems to be at its most
impressive when he resists the temptation to provide his drawings with a black
outline and simply uses the various colours and shapes of his characters’ faces
and bodies to depict the action.
The variant cover art of "THE MERCENARY SEA" No. 1 by Mathew Reynolds |
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