Martyrs of Revelation has become a reality through publisher Visions Found and writers Mark Loader & Travis Mazereeuw have their sights set on taking us to whole new worlds with this release.
These first three books of a four part series sees the grounding for a story that’s aiming to shout out about the biological world and the diversity it offers……and that’s all being achieved with a huge team of creators.
Book One – Egg
Art: Todd McCullough, Letterer: Aditya Bidikar, Guest Art: Dario Jelusic.
The first book drops us right in the heart of a new day on a new job for rookie ecologist J Agata as he experiences working with a seasoned explorer like Daxley Prey. There could well have been more description to what was happening but throwing us in alongside J gives an instant connection of trying to figure out just what the hell is going on and what we’re doing. It’s something that works given the flow of the opening exchanges and drips of info we get and when things spiral out of control a bit there’s a real sense of what this full series could offer us as the worlds evolve.
Artwise, it feels like a gritty introduction to the main players from Todd McCullogh but as the exploration elements drift in along with the first animal encounter it gives a nice feeling of uncontrolled energy with everything that’s happening. Colours add to that as well but the muted tones are a comforting contrast before the risks inevitably make their appearance.
Book Two – Falling Snow
Pencils: Federico Zumel, Inks: Juan Castro, Colours: Kelley Harris, Letters: Aditya Bidikar, Cover: Jamie Boylan, Guest Artist: India Lee Crews.
The fallout from the opening issues exertions come into full effect for J & Daxley from the beginning here and as they find their way back to the sanctity of their base ship we get a bit more of a feel for just what the whole set-up is like. The broadening team sees some new faces coming into the mix but the single purpose behind them and the shared need to find new wild-life that they can study & save from any threats is swiftly brought in to help build that background story around them.
The impressive ship they have at their disposal is a key element in this issue as they recover from one adventure and prepare for the next all in the space of one journey and while there’s a definite difference in the art style compared with the opening issue, the combination of Federico Zumel’s pencils, Juan Castro’s inks & Kelley Harris’ colours gives the next installment a more detailed feel. That level of detail brings with it a better sense of the team and how close they all are and as the world develops it’s key to keeping the interest there that had already been piqued from the opener.
Book Three – Baby Teeth
Pencils: Ozgur Yildirim, Inks: Juan Castro, Colours: Giorgia Lanza, Letters: Aditya Bidikar, Cover: Brooks Kim, Guest Artist: Luca Bona
The third issue sees the team fully wipe off the dust from that earlier adventure and delve headlong into their newest exploration and in no time Dexley & J find themselves a new animal to track down. The tracking down side of things brings them into the midst of a battle they probably don’t want to find themselves in but diving headlong into things seems to be the only option they aim to try. This time however, there’s much more serious repercussions and the injuries are piling up for any of the adventures caught in the crossfire but it’s the wider team that feel the effects.
An action-packed third issue sees the group dynamic set in and the risks they take at every step become a harsh reality for adventurer & reader alike but it’s the connections between the whole team that really shine in this one. Art style is very different again but Ozgur Yildrim, Juan again, Girogia Lanza and Aditya manage to tie everything together nicely while injecting a real sense of energy and a more intimate connection between all the main players we’ve got to know over the issues so far.
The Martyrs of Revelation idea seemed to be an ambitious one from the very beginning especially considering the number of artists, pencilers, inkers, colourists and even photographers that are involved but the style changes across these three teeter on the edge of being just too different without actually causing the project to derail. Instead, the consistency from the writing team, from the letterer and, in particular from editors Shannon D’Arcy & Tim Young, helps maintain a flow that keeps the introduction, the development and then involvement with the core cast of characters at the forefront of it’s world building.
The success of this will of course depend on how well each of the styles is embraced by the reader as I’m sure a consistent look to the entire story may well suit others much better but I felt there was more than enough to make this gel together. In fact, on reading these first three it already feels like this has much to offer beyond a four issue run. Maybe once that initial set of issues is out there it could settle on a set of mini series and vary the artist per series rather than per issue to keep things consistent while still taking on the challenge of building a world that’s not only interesting but also thought-provoking and energetic enough to ensure the momentum built here can sustain it for a long time to come. Intriguing start from this title and a TON of potential routes it can take from here.
Head over to Amazon to pick-up a hardcopy or kindle version of the book & check out the Martys of Revelation website for more details on this and what else they have planned. You can also checkout their Instagram page too.
7/10
G-Man
COMICS ANONYMOUS 