Tim Daniel further expands his world with “Enormous” #4 a pulse pounding story that is filled with action, this may be the best chapter of the book yet. What we get here is equal parts mystery, action set pieces, and character driven drama, in short it’s absolutely thrilling, thanks to incredibly tight pacing.
WRITTEN BY: Tim Daniel
ART BY: Mehdi Cheggour
PUBLISHER: 215 Ink
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: September 23, 2014
As this point it should come as no surprise that “Enormous” has it all figured out. The book has been crafted with a evident level of care that shows the intimate planning process of building a huge world, but does it through awesome action and character.
This issue begins with a showdown in Tucson Arizona. Everything here seems to be unrelated to Ellen’s journey, but proves interesting thanks to the nature of the showdown on the page. Everything feels completely compelling. The man we’re introduced to gives us a heaping dose of person on person violence and shows the world of “Enormous” isn’t just crumbling thanks to giant hulking beasts.
Ellen’s story reaches fever pitch as she continues to search for her girlfriend. It’s the type of fool’s errand that would have you yelling at your television we’re this a horror movie, but I gives a great sense of her character, she’s driven to a flaw. It’ll be her saving grace, but her it’s almost her demise.
But the real star of this issue is the incomparable Mehdi Cheggour. His stylistic blend of photorealism with gigantic set pieces gives every little panel some heart. He’s able to create an irresistible world thanks to the level of detail in his work with the human characters, but explodes the book outward whenever the beasts are on the page. The result is a finely tuned experimentation in pacing that really allows the visual flow of the book to control the action.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the final pages of the issue. They tease a larger world that’s about to be introduced to the reader. Something else is going on, and it’s not all giant beasts. Humanity is evolving in a response to these new threats. How this will all manifest in the pages of the comic is still unclear, but this month offers a tasty tease.
“Enormous” is quite unlike most other monster stories. It’s got your standard fare Kaiju, and it’s got the destruction porn, but the exception is character. There are actual humans on the ground struggling to survive, and it makes all the difference.