GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ Comic Review: OLIVER #1 from Image Comics | I Smell Sheep

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Comic Review: OLIVER #1 from Image Comics

OLIVER #1
January 23, 2019
Writer: Gary Whitta
Artist: Darick Robertson
Cover A: Darick Robertson
Series: Oliver
Diamond ID: NOV180029
Age Rating: T+

Award-winning screenwriter Gary Whitta (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Book Of Eli) teams with celebrated artist Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan, HAPPY!, The Boys) for a new take on a literary classic—with a futuristic twist. OLIVER re-imagines Charles Dickens’ most famous orphan as a post-apocalyptic superhero fighting to liberate a war-ravaged England while searching for the truth about his own mysterious origins. 

Gary Whitta slips effortlessly from movies into comics with a terrific story and career-best art from Darick Robertson.”—Mark Millar


Look at that cover! The artwork inside is just as stunning. The rich somber tones and beautiful details are a perfect backdrop for this post-apocalyptic tale. The panels look more like animated movie cells which might reflect Gary Whitta's influence.

The first few pages of issue#1 are a visual and poetic explanation of post-apocalyptic London using the famous speech from Shakespeare's Richard II:

"This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,"
Issue #1 gives the reader an idea of what makes England/London different from the rest of the world and Oliver's significance. It uses a popular superhero origin troupe. The special child doesn't know they are special and adoptive caring parent lies by omission to protect child, but child could hate them for it. I won't go into any of those details and steal the creators' thunder as you discover their special twist (Ha! Pun intended.) on the superhero genre and the world they have built.

The artwork alone will satisfy you but there is the beginning of a promising story too.
 
 


4.5 "twisted" Sheep





SharonS

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