EverAfter #2
By Hervé St-Louis
November 1, 2016 - 09:36
DC Comics
Vertigo
Writer(s): Dave Justus, Matthew Sturges
Penciller(s): Travis Moore
Inker(s): Travis Moore
Colourist(s): Michael Wiggam
Letterer(s): Todd Klein
Cover Artist(s): Tula Lotay
$3.99
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Having not read Fables, I missed a lot of background and context for reviewing EverAfter but still I was enthralled. EverAfter plays with a world where the old myths are being challenged by new ones created today. With the zombie apocalypse and other creatures from our post-modern world spinning out of control. It’s up to the old myths and their characters to protect humanity.
The metaphor of Connor whose father was a werewolf and limited to animal or human form while the son is not is intriguing. Here, Connor, like many of our current myths, does not ascribe or respect a limited range of capabilities and a strict set of storytelling devices. He can transform, shapeshift into anything at once. And his exuberance, naivetés makes him act like a reckless James Bond wannabe. In his character, the different fables and myths cross over into one another without respect for any rules.
This is part of the pathology that Dave Justus and Matthew Sturges play with. There are no norms in this world anymore and the old is trying to make sense of the new. This is how post modernism feels like for many people who can no longer juggle all of the different realities and obsolete truths and context-dependent perspective of the world. For Bo, of the agent injured in the mission from issue one, healing means belief. Enough people have to believe in her for her to be better after an injury.
Bringing back deceased fables to life is the same. If you were worried about Hansel dying last issue, well, he’s back now. In a way, his journey is the opposite of Connor’s. Hansel is an old hand, a professional for whom the mission mattered so much that he had to die and break the rules to make things right. Connor is the opposite. He still believes in good but also play fun. We see the world of EverAfter partly through his eyes and witness his awe.
Travis Moore reminded me of a younger Rags Morales. I have never heard of him before but I enjoy his work. Unlike Morales, he keeps the size of eyeballs to a respectable size. Besides great character renditions, Moore excels at background illustration. His page layouts are sometimes a bit too fancy and can lead to confusion though. If he limited these tricks, it would enhance his considerable storytelling abilities.
Rating: 9/10
Related Articles:
Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #11
EverAfter #6
EverAfter #5
Review: EverAfter #4
EverAfter #3
EverAfter #2
Review: Everafter #1