Filed under: Arcana Comics, Comic Reviews | Tags: Arcana Comics, Becoming, Brooke Burgess, Dane Cypel, Dr Magus, Jacob Price, Maya Shepherd, Sara Machajewski
What’s better than getting hold of an early preview of a new comic/graphic novel release four months before it’s released? Truth is it can depend on what you’re getting but in the case of Arcana’s “Becoming” title……I got to read this ahead of its November release. Reviewer set to fun!
That “fun” element becomes distorted pretty quickly as it mixes with the dark and sinister goings on of this latest offering. Writer Brooke Burgess drops us into the midst of Jacob Prices’ closing months at a remote university as he aims to confront his professor after the realization that for all his years of study….he still has nothing tangible to show for it.
A confrontation, that leads to threats and draws the student further into his professors sights. Next day we have the announcement of the final task in the final year on the course and a smooth introduction of another member of staff to review the student submissions, Maya Shepherd.
What follows though draws us deeper and deeper into the mystery surrounding the professor and his unorthodox approach to life, his students and filling his free time. A life and death story unfolds as both Jacob and Maya face the brunt of the professor’s psychosis. We see that the creepy professor is actually much more disturbed than we first expect and that his high & mighty approach to his students and the academic course he teaches is merely a false front for a character with depth and evil in his soul.
A story with 3 main characters that get developed effortlessly and as strong as the writing is…..the art, by Dane Cypel and the Colouring (in particular) by Sara Machajewski bring something even more to the story. There are some glorious sunset scenes which glow so much you can almost feel the heat and then there’s a clear contrast of the darkness throughout the story that manages to haunt and draw you in further. A real triumph on both the writing and art fronts to bring us something much smarter and intellectual than we’d maybe expect from a comic/graphic novel. Smart, dark and beautiful – this is well worth a read, as much for a horror fan as it is for a comic fan looking for a break from the norm.
Mark the calendar for its release in November and keep tabs on when you can pre-order it too. Check over on their website for more info on this and their other titles:
8/10
G-Man
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