By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Jade Dodge (editor)
The Story: Zoe and Hunter have to team-up for the mysterious Woodrun game.
Four Things:
1. A focused issue. – There wasn’t a lot of background noise in this issue. Morning Glories usually does focus on a character or two, but this issue felt much tighter (and better). It’s really just Zoe and Hunter out in the woods and some Zoe flashbacks (more about that below). Other than a few moments of Jun and some discussion of Casey, this was all Zoe/Hunter. No teachers, no Ike, etc. That really helped the readability of the issue because we were able to focus on the characters in front of us and not worry so much about the 50 other mysteries with the other characters. Now, the challenge for the creators is that when we DO revisit those characters, we’ll have been away from those mysteries for months and they’re going to have to remind us a little bit!
2. We know a LOT more about Zoe. – So she’s a killer. But, as is normal for the series, just as we learn something, they give us some more mysteries. The folks she’s killed have been for different reasons. One was nominally to help a friend, one was to save her own butt and the final one was a possible romantic rival. It also seems like each murder got a little easier for her going from impulsive to calculated. Hmm… And, just the fact that she talked so much in this issue makes me feel like I know her better. I seriously wouldn’t mind if all the issues got a little “wordy” just to enhance our familiarity with the characters.
3. Weird romantic vibes. – Did anyone else get the feeling that Zoe might let Hunter take a pass at her? It was very weird, especially given that she was telling Hunter how Casey was WAY out of his league (and she clearly thinks of herself as better than Casey). Who’d think that Hunter would end up being the ladies man of the series?? I’m sure some of it is that Zoe likes the attention, but why put on airs when alone in the woods? Anyway, I love me some romance that plays up the soap opera aspects of comics.
4. Great acting from Eisma’s characters. – A great example was the romantic tension in the air between Hunter and Zoe. That was ALL Eisma because there was nothing in the script that would indicate anything amorous. And, it wasn’t anything overt either. Eisma was just doing little things with the way he framed a scene or played with Zoe’s body language or her eyes. I actually wonder if Eisma ever creeps his friends out because he’s starring at them all the time, trying to take in all the little angles of their head and tilt of their hips.
5. Wish the coloring was flatter. – The ONE thing that really holds this issue (and series) back for me is the coloring. I hate to pick on a colorist and maybe it’s a personal thing, but I just really don’t like highlighted colors at all. They always end up causing havoc with light sources. Eisma isn’t really big on shadow, but these highlights are fighting with themselves. There’s a good example on page 1: What light source causes those highlights OR makes that scene as bright as it is colored? It’s two girls in a car at night. That makes harsh and angular shadows because all of the light is coming in the car’s windows. I just think this book would be way more attractive if it had flat colors.
Conclusion: A really strong issue that benefits from the more focused story. We don’t so much learn the answer to the mysteries of the series, but we DO learn a lot more about the personality of one of the main characters. Zoe is fully three-dimensional now.
Grade: B+
-Dean Stell
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