ATOMIC
EMPIRE

Welcome to April's comics: We have an excellent selection this month: from Marvel's vineyard, Nick Fury; from the plains of DC comes Batwoman, and from a independent winery, the lovely Rose (stupid pun intended).

Nick Fury (Marvel Comics): This comic starts with a bold move on the cover, with the eponymous hero in a vibrant magenta. The color explodes through the book, accenting the action sequences and making the visual narrative more dynamic I always enjoy non-standard splash pages, and the slick control of the story flow compliments the mood and environment.

Without getting too specific, Agent Fury walks into a casino, looking for Hydra intel. It feels like Ocean's Eleven and Casino Royale: Marvel's espionage at its best. I have a good feeling about this series considering how strong this first issue is.

Batwoman (2017) (DC Comics): Batwoman also uses an interesting color palette choices, using black, white and red during flashbacks, evoking a more stark and dramatic tone to the storytelling.

One of the driving questions for Batwoman is "What can Batwoman do that Batman can't?" It haunts her, drives her to brooding obsession and compels her to action rather than falling into a Hamlet-esque entropy. Anyone familiar with the previous series will recognize the cast and the dynamics, with a new bioweapon hitting the black market and wreaking havoc.

Rose (Image Comics):
This is a chilling high-fantasy tale in a land which no longer trusts in magic, and is killing all people who show any signs of magic, usually signified through white hair of the user. Our heroine Rose is a redhead mage who returns one day to her burning village, and her burning house which claims her mother. She flees the village, running into a group of renegades rebelling against the queen's tyrannical reign.

When we talking of villains, the queen is the embodiment of evil, having not only decimated the magical population (when she's obviously a mage), but also enslaving and killing her underlings with no reluctance.

Rose has not yet found her Khat (yes, it's name is Thorne) which is vital to becoming the Guardian to save her world. Writer Meredith Finch (Wonder Woman, The Little Mermaid) and Ig Guara (Batman: Arkham Knight, Blue Beetle, The Ravagers) are excellent in building a compelling, gritty environment and a truly hateful villain without the expected grandstanding.

The colors used by the colorist intensify the drama and action of every scene, in the same way that lighting is used for plays to convey an extra layer of visual meaning.

All in all, these three comics have played successfully with color within storytelling and produced an excellent piece. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Okilly dokilly,
Dee