Comics
Review: “Kinski # 4
Things go from bad to so much worse in “Kinski” # 4. Gabriel Hardman exposes some of Joe’s frustrations and allows readers to see a more complicated portrait of the man we thought we knew. Joe won’t back down, and through his steadfast determination the cracks in his crusade spread.
WRITTEN BY: Gabriel Hardman
ART BY: Gabriel Hardman
PUBLISHER: Monkeybrain Comics
PRICE: $0.99
GET IT HERE: http://www.monkeybraincomics.com/
Joe is stranded in the middle of a sprawling trailer park, late for work, and frantically searching for a dog he feels responsible for. This mobile home community may as well be a labyrinth but instead of a Minotaur the oafish occupants guard what Joe seeks most. Hardman does a fantastic job at creating a frantic pace for this issue. Joe’s determination is sweeping and alarming. It’s understandable because he finally wants to give Kinski back, but he lets his temper get the best of him and because of this he alienates everyone around him.
Hardman’s art is clean and ambitious. His bold style owes a lot to the comic greats that started the medium. I see a lot of John Romita SR in his work, and it goes a great way to characterize this story. “Kinski” feels like the aftermath of an old Sunday newspaper 3 panel comic about a silly misunderstanding. The sprawling panel of the trailer park, or the impact of a fist really shows off Hardman’s skill. His paneling is clean and communicates the story flawlessly.
The story is remarkably tight and well thought out. It’s deceptively simple but manages to spiral out of control and become a character study. Why is Joe so resistant to let go? Why is he so determined? And what has to happen for him to give up?
His flaws and his relation to the dog are slowly bubbling to the surface to reveal a complex underbelly of motivation. I wish I had more of it right now. With each successive chapter I become more entrenched in Joe’s struggle and more critical of his behavior. Where things go from here is anyone’s guess, but I’m fairly sure Joe isn’t about to give up. Which again begs the question as to why.
Rating: 4/5 Skulls.
IDW Dark and Paramount recently joined forces to launch limited comic book tales set in the worlds of Smile and A Quiet Place, and we’ve learned today that they’ll continue hanging around in those franchise universes with two brand new limited series tales.
Entertainment Weekly has exclusively revealed this afternoon that IDW Dark’s Any Given Smile debuts in September, while A Quiet Place: Rising Tides arrives in November.
First up, from writer Stephanie Williams and artist Pablo Collar, Any Given Smile puts a football-themed twist on Parker Finn’s successful Smile movie franchise.
The five-part limited series is “set in January 1995, during the American Arena League football championship game in St. Augustine, Florida. The rising superstar of the Sharks, backup quarterback Dupree, is feeling the pressure from his teammates, the fans, and also the city’s gambling underworld, to whom he owes a considerable debt. Meanwhile, a sports journalist investigates a string of suicides that may be connected to the big game. At the very least, they are connected to a sinister entity that preys on the minds of its victims.”
From writer Declan Shalvey and artist Luke Sparrow, A Quiet Place: Rising Tides will also be a five-issue limited story. The comic book tale “brings the creatures to the Florida Keys, where a father-daughter duo attempt to survive on water in a houseboat.”
EW further details, “This tense family reunion coincides with the arrival of the vicious creatures that hunt through sound. Grace and her dad find safety on the open ocean, but she’ll have to make landfall sooner or later; the father’s oxygen tank and their supplies are running low, while a hurricane swiftly approaches.”
Learn more about both comic books over on Entertainment Weekly.
You must be logged in to post a comment.