There's a lot of things you could say about Magdalena #1, but you'd be selling the book short if you didn't start with this: It is one absolutely gorgeous read.
Just at the first glance, it's clear that the universe of the Magdalena is fast, fluid, and packs a real punch. Nelson Blake II has the sort of style that's reminiscent of Stuart Immonen with more of a cartoony flair -- he really knows how to crank up the speed for a fight, as he has Magdalena dive and roll and slice with that enormous spear. But where I don't think Blake will get enough credit is when it comes to Patience's expressions -- it's not necessarily high emoting of a Kevin Maguire or Stefano Caselli, but as you see the look on Patience's face when she parries an attack, you can tell there's a real subtlety here.
Yet Blake isn't alone here -- he has a fantastic support system with Sal Regla and Dave McCaig. Regla douses the page with shadows and mood, and really gives all the characters some weight and definition. What's fascinating to me is that Regla manages to make the quiet scenes rock even harder than the action -- the characters just have some really bold lines to them, that really makes everything pop. And Dave McCaig... the man is a superstar, whose color choices are always bold and eye-catching. The use of reds, obviously, is a big draw here, but he really electrifies the pages with every swath of color here. For a dark book, McCaig's art burns bright.
Read the full review here.
Source: Newsarama
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