CREDIT: Image
Rating: 5/5 – Colors and Art Add Substance to Spurrier’s Story.
By ComicSpectrum senior reviewer’s Shawn Hoklas.
Cry Havoc is complicated in its set up and creative narrative, but at the same time it’s extremely easy to read and is an exciting new premier for Image. It’s written by Simon Spurrier and has art by the talented Ryan Kelly. Just as important as those two creative talents are the colorists, and there’s three of them. Last year I reviewed a Dark Horse mini series called Ei8ht that used colors to define the structure of it’s storytelling, and here Cry Havoc does something similar to great effect. Colorists Matt Wilson, Lee Loughridge and Nick Filardi use their skills to add another layer to Cry Havoc’s story, and it works in a way that adds to the story instead of complicating it.
Cry Havoc is tough to explain if you were trying to pitch the story to a new reader. A young woman who also happens to be a werewolf travels with a group of power infused military personnel into Afghanistan to search for another woman who has werewolf-like powers, and has used them violently in an act of war. Not only that, but there’s also a love story between main character Lou (female) and her girlfriend that’s just as interesting as the main story. What makes the storytelling even more unique is the way the story is told.
Lee Loughridge opens the story with deep and powerful reds where the story takes place in the future. Heavy blues and purples define the love story, while browns and slightly messy colors define the story in Afghanistan. It all works and although Loughridge’s colors are the star of the show, the rest of the colors all do a great job of defining the world and timeframes of Cry Havoc. Ryan Kelly’s art is just as great as the colors, and his artistic style changes enough for each timeline that you’d almost think there’s multiple artists on the book. I haven’t even mentioned the design, the logo (chaotically inverting the A and V in Havoc) and the cover of the book, but these are all as wonderful as the story itself. Cry Havoc kicks off 2016 with an amazing start and I can’t wait to read this book throughout the rest of the year.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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