Advance Review: These Savage Shores #3
With the third issue of Vault Comics hit book These Savage Shores we get to see ramifications of betrayal and loyalty as demons and men spill blood in a war of agendas. But who will win and more importantly as promises of safe return seemingly falter, who is brought from a slumber of sorts to walk the blood soaked land once more?
Series writer Ram V has taken the time to allow the reader to invest in the characters of this multi-layered story as thing proceed ahead at an alarming pace. With the country torn asunder by war, there is no real safe heaven for man, woman or demon as compromises are made in an effort to bring peace. Across the world, the ramifications of previous actions catch up, adding to further the mystery. Through it all Ram V delivers a range of characters, each complex in their own way. There is a lot of verbiage to contend with, giving the book an almost epic feel more akin to the great classic American novels than the comic book format. With diverse aspects of the story in play, you need to keep your focus, especially as Ram V trades action scenes with emotional scenes featuring differing relationships. It is a very hard-line to walk, yet Ram V manages it with aplomb, giving each segment their panel space as breaks and interludes, which at times, actually carries more punch than the main arc.
Sumit Kumar is on illustrations, again showing a level of depth that is impressive, regardless of the environment that he is required to show. There is both an opulence to the settings as well as a level of dirty, depending on which side of world the story is focusing on. Kumar demonstrates a style that can show changes in structure. For instance, there are bold panels of men astride horses; then there are panels of conversation where the figure work reminds me of the late great Norm Breyfogle. Whichever style is in play, the art is gorgeously coloured by Vittorio Astone with a water-color scheme that allows the environments to merge somehow with the characters, resulting a world that reeks of humidity and steam, again respectively. Finally, letterer Aditya Bidikar excels at ensuring that the beauty of the art is not lost behind a myriad of balloons, weighed down by some rather large speeches.
It should come as no surprise that I love this book. Vault having been putting out quality books for a while now and this is no exception. The only downside I can see to this issue is that it is not really “jump on point” friendly, so to enjoy this book at it’s best, you will need to check out those back issues bins, if there are any copies left of this brilliantly crafted tale.
Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Ram V
Art by; Sumit Kumar
Colors by; Vittorio Astone
Letters by; Aditya Bidikar
Published by; Vault Comics
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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