Comic Vine Review

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Translucid #1 - Wild Horses

5

Heroes? Villains? Forget what you know, you're about to go on a colorful trip into the philosophical.

The Good

I'll admit it: I was drawn in by the cover for this one. There's something so compelling about the neons, the negative-space chess knight, the mysterious looming figure. The yellows and pinks remind me of FBP, and even if the preview hadn't looked totally weird (in a good way), I probably would've picked it up.

The good news: I'm not regretting my insta-grab for the bold, bright cover. TRANSLUCID kicked off with an incredibly well-executed first issue, and I'm definitely invested in the story. It's thoughtful, it's philosophical (I especially enjoy the breakdown of the hero-villain relationship and its inherent symbiosis), and it's visually stimulating. Neons aside (though the interior palettes are striking!), I've been flipping through this book and admiring clever panel angles, well-chosen breaks, and bold, designed SFX.

There's a really wonderful build; Chondra Echert and Claudio Sanchez throw some interesting twists at just the right times (even the ones you see coming don't happen quite the way you might expect), and the pacing is just right for amping up the "interesting" factor. And on the page? Wicked. Daniel Bayliss knocks it out with striking character designs, fluorescent cityscapes, and a mighty fine hallucinogenic trip.

The Bad

There's a framing device that I haven't really warmed to yet; it's cute (and adds an extra layer to the A-plot if you really think about how it connects), but I'm jarred out of my focus on the current entanglement of The Horse and The Navigator -- and their story is really cool.

The Verdict

I'm still trying to process TRANSLUCID -- in a good way. It's giving me a great deal to think about vis-a-vis how heroes and villains engage with each other in our beloved sequential medium, and the spotlight on "the neverending battle" makes for a brilliant discussion topic (make your friends read this book!) and a dramatic tango of a script. Vibrant colors and dynamic panels make for a visually-enticing book, and I'm already caught up in the chess match between The Horse and The Navigator.