The Good
In HINTERKIND, nature has taken back the land from humanity. Humans have become an endangered species. Prosper Monday and Angus are sent to go off into the world, which has become a very different place filled with some very bizarre creatures.
It's been generations since The Blight killed off almost all the humans on the face of the planet, so nature has started to take back over and creatures from lore, The Hinterkind, have returned. It's fantastic to have this story take place generations after all this has happened, instead of starting when the world took a nose dive. Not everything is directly laid out for the reader, so there's still an element of mystery, since the reader is a bit in the dark. Writer Ian Edginton has created a great starting point for what seems to be a really cool world and story.
The reader is introduced to the world and the main characters, Prosper and Angus, and from there, it gets farther and farther from the reality we all know now. Vertigo is a great company when it comes to world-building, and this book fits the Vertigo scheme very well. There's a sense of fantasy with some more adult themes. It's a great mixture for the comic book reader that still loves tales of lore and myth.
In one of the more interesting moments, from the beginning of the issue, Prosper Monday walks in on Angus changing and discovers he has a tail. This is the reader's first glimpse into the world these characters live in and makes you wonder if that can happen to a human, what's next?
The art of Francesco Trifogli is pretty great. He visually tells a story in a wonderful way. This is most evident in the couple of action sequences here where the pace kicks up and the reader feels like they're right there with the characters. His establishing shots give the reader a great insight into the world these characters live in, and the couple of reveal pages, within the issue, that are laid out extremely well.
The Bad
The opening bugged me a bit. There are zebras on the top of roofs in New York City? It doesn't sit right, and yes, I'm fine with the fact there's a zebra in New York.
There's a couple scenes, where the coloring looked a bit off. Artist Francesco Trifogli uses this coloring style that makes it look like characters are under trees and a bit of light is peaking through. While this style looks pretty cool, the problem is that it looks really off when it's used in an office building or outside, in an open field.
The Verdict
HINTERKIND delivers a fantastic opening issue to a new series. If you're a fan of stories set in a dystopian future where humans are struggling to survive, but the rest of the world is doing fine, then this is the book for you. If you really enjoy creatures and monsters from lore and myth and always wondered how they'd interact if they really existed, then again, this book is for you. Edginton and Trifogli deliver a Vertigo book that fits into the Vertigo imprint. It has elements of storytelling we've all grown up with but put into a more adult context. If you're looking for something new and interesting to read this week, then HINTERKIND is your book. Overall, I highly recommend this issue.
8 Comments