THESE SAVAGE SHORES review - 2019's best comic
(Reviewed by Melody Werner)
These Savage Shores is a 2018-2019 five issue fantasy comic written by White Noise's Ram V and illustrated by DC New Talent Showcase alum, Sumit Kumar. Published by Vault Comics as part of a deal with the writer studio that is White Noise (alongside other hits such as Fearscape, Friendo, and Deep Roots), which is made up by Ram, Ryan O'Sullivan, Dan Watters, and Alex Paknadel. Met with critical acclaim and assumed commercial success--given the fact that White Noise and Vault will be working together on a new wave of comics together. I've been reading this monthly since I first caught up to #3, and this is one of the best comics I've ever read.
Kumar's artwork is spectacular, so much so that I suspect he is bound to be a Big Two sensation within the next half decade. His visuals effortlessly (to our lying eye, of course) breathe life into this epic tale, in a way that a lesser artist could bomb astonishingly in attempting to stretch for these heights. Something particularly interesting, both on a pure nuts and bolts technical--and a metatextual--level, is the usage of nine panel grids. This structure has long been associated with the greats (Watchmen, Mister Miracle, etc.), but has recently come under fire by some (including, famously for those who follow these things, Fearscape) for lacking originality. I rarely talk of composition--as I am an idiot for a reviewer--but as a reader I've always enjoyed stories with such conventional panel layouts and ones that change things up. There are inventive things to do with 9 panel grids in storytelling beyond pure gimmickry, and These Savage Shores succeeds in providing some of its own.
Vitorio Astone's deft color work adds a suitably ominous veneer to the production where necessary and elevates what is already impressive linework. There are some pages where the visuals were just so breathtaking I found myself staring at them longer than I usually would. Rounding things out on the core creative team is Aditya Bidikar, whose phenomenal lettering I've raved about enough before. Still, I repeat my assertion that he's by far my favorite letterer working, even if I'm a sorta "lettering casual," and what he turns out in TSS reaffirms that assessment.
Modern fantasy is rarely gothic in its approach (hence why it is called "modern"), so when something like These Savage Shores returns to that well, it feels fresh again. "What's old is new," after all. Luckily, TSS manages to stick the landing where gothic fantasy is concerned, with writing that rises above simply being flowery; to being ruthlessly compelling. For instance, there is a common refrain of "Where the days are scorched and the nights are full of teeth," which could become repetitive if it weren't so ingenious that the repetition is forgiven and earned. The narrative is engrossing to the nth degree, making a sprawling tale of empires, and immortality, and betrayals in the heat of battle, and vampires, and demons--all feel so personal, that there are moments where you'll just have moments of two characters talking to one another about the melancholic beauty of eternal loneliness and these are the most powerful scenes in the story.
A large scale epic requires massive casts, and those that fall short of greatness tend to be those where the cast of characters becomes ungainly or feels half-baked. These Savage Shores does not fall short of greatness. I can't think of a one character that feels like they were ill-conceived. Standouts include the immortal, Bishan, who is an interesting take on the tortured immortal archetype that has made peace with his fate to observe as everything he cares about crumbles to dust; child emperor, Vikram, who is wise beyond his years, forced to sit on the throne after the death of his father; and mortal lover of Bishan, Kori, who is his anchor--a wonderful, fascinating woman whose interest in Bishan's immortality does more than simply prod exposition.
Despite receiving deserved flak over its failure to pay creators properly in the past, Vault continually publishes what are some of the most exciting sci-fi and fantasy comics out there from some of the coolest up and comers this industry has to offer. These Savage Shores embodies everything I enjoy about all the comics I've read bearing Vault's telltale seal of quality. You should really be checking this out. These Savage Shores gets a 10/10.
Masterpiece
Summary:
These Savage Shores is everything I read comics for. A one of a kind instant classic. Go read this one, kids.
These Savage Shores is a 2018-2019 five issue fantasy comic written by White Noise's Ram V and illustrated by DC New Talent Showcase alum, Sumit Kumar. Published by Vault Comics as part of a deal with the writer studio that is White Noise (alongside other hits such as Fearscape, Friendo, and Deep Roots), which is made up by Ram, Ryan O'Sullivan, Dan Watters, and Alex Paknadel. Met with critical acclaim and assumed commercial success--given the fact that White Noise and Vault will be working together on a new wave of comics together. I've been reading this monthly since I first caught up to #3, and this is one of the best comics I've ever read.
Kumar's artwork is spectacular, so much so that I suspect he is bound to be a Big Two sensation within the next half decade. His visuals effortlessly (to our lying eye, of course) breathe life into this epic tale, in a way that a lesser artist could bomb astonishingly in attempting to stretch for these heights. Something particularly interesting, both on a pure nuts and bolts technical--and a metatextual--level, is the usage of nine panel grids. This structure has long been associated with the greats (Watchmen, Mister Miracle, etc.), but has recently come under fire by some (including, famously for those who follow these things, Fearscape) for lacking originality. I rarely talk of composition--as I am an idiot for a reviewer--but as a reader I've always enjoyed stories with such conventional panel layouts and ones that change things up. There are inventive things to do with 9 panel grids in storytelling beyond pure gimmickry, and These Savage Shores succeeds in providing some of its own.
Vitorio Astone's deft color work adds a suitably ominous veneer to the production where necessary and elevates what is already impressive linework. There are some pages where the visuals were just so breathtaking I found myself staring at them longer than I usually would. Rounding things out on the core creative team is Aditya Bidikar, whose phenomenal lettering I've raved about enough before. Still, I repeat my assertion that he's by far my favorite letterer working, even if I'm a sorta "lettering casual," and what he turns out in TSS reaffirms that assessment.
Modern fantasy is rarely gothic in its approach (hence why it is called "modern"), so when something like These Savage Shores returns to that well, it feels fresh again. "What's old is new," after all. Luckily, TSS manages to stick the landing where gothic fantasy is concerned, with writing that rises above simply being flowery; to being ruthlessly compelling. For instance, there is a common refrain of "Where the days are scorched and the nights are full of teeth," which could become repetitive if it weren't so ingenious that the repetition is forgiven and earned. The narrative is engrossing to the nth degree, making a sprawling tale of empires, and immortality, and betrayals in the heat of battle, and vampires, and demons--all feel so personal, that there are moments where you'll just have moments of two characters talking to one another about the melancholic beauty of eternal loneliness and these are the most powerful scenes in the story.
A large scale epic requires massive casts, and those that fall short of greatness tend to be those where the cast of characters becomes ungainly or feels half-baked. These Savage Shores does not fall short of greatness. I can't think of a one character that feels like they were ill-conceived. Standouts include the immortal, Bishan, who is an interesting take on the tortured immortal archetype that has made peace with his fate to observe as everything he cares about crumbles to dust; child emperor, Vikram, who is wise beyond his years, forced to sit on the throne after the death of his father; and mortal lover of Bishan, Kori, who is his anchor--a wonderful, fascinating woman whose interest in Bishan's immortality does more than simply prod exposition.
Despite receiving deserved flak over its failure to pay creators properly in the past, Vault continually publishes what are some of the most exciting sci-fi and fantasy comics out there from some of the coolest up and comers this industry has to offer. These Savage Shores embodies everything I enjoy about all the comics I've read bearing Vault's telltale seal of quality. You should really be checking this out. These Savage Shores gets a 10/10.
Masterpiece
Summary:
These Savage Shores is everything I read comics for. A one of a kind instant classic. Go read this one, kids.
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