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Creed: The Next Round #4 delivers a decent finale that expands Creed’s world

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Creed: The Next Round #4

Amara prepares for the showdown of a generation, aided by family and coaching that only the ring can bring. But winning the war in the ring can only go so far, while the war in the boardroom remains… Creed: The Next Round #4 wraps up an intriguing extension of the Rocky and Creed brand.

Overseen by Michael B. Jordan and written by Latoya Morgan and Jai Jamison, Creed: The Next Round has been an interesting way to further extend the Creed storyline started not too long ago. The series picked up on a throwaway line from the third film, diving deeper into Adonis Creed’s siblings as Adonis’ daughter attempts to carve her own legacy in the ring.

The series has been decent overall. It has done a solid job of expanding the franchise in logical ways and opening things up further to explore. Where it slips, and does so in Creed: The Next Round #4, is rushing things. The series should have been a four issue series. It feels too compressed, too condense. Not enough of its solid ideas are given enough room to expand and explore. The story overall feels like a three act play stuffed into four issues.

In Creed: The Next Round #4 not only do we need to deal with Adonis’ sibling issues but Amara’s big fight. It all is wrapped up well enough but everything deserved more. More interesting imagery, more emotion, more drama, and more boxing. The issue hits the beats you’d expect but doesn’t deliver the “f-yeah” feeling you’d expect. There’s something missing that both Creed and Rocky films nailed consistently. A montage is cut short. The fights never quite delivering the dance you want or the brutality you expect. A graphic novel for each act would have allowed for exactly that as well as build more into the family drama of Adonis, his wife, and daughter as well as Adonis and his siblings. Everything feels rather… rushed, as if it’s up against a bell.

The art is a bit mixed too. The series has had moments of greatness but these past two issues have slipped a bit. Paris Alleyene, Lea Caballero, and Wilton Santos handle the pencils and ink while Gab Contreras and DJ Chavis handle color with Andworld Design on lettering. While there’s some interesting visual moments, the art style of the three is different enough to notice and unlike earlier issues, some of the characters don’t look as much like their onscreen counterparts. BOOM! has had some issues with multiple artists on titles lately and this is a prime example of that working against the end result.

Creed: The Next Round #4 is a fine ending to the series. It leaves things open for some interesting next chapters and new directions for the franchise to go in. Hopefully, someone believes in that potential and keeps things going. A comic spin-off of the film series that delivers the next chapter is a great way to go and a lower barrier to dive further into and expand the world of the Creed family.

Story: Latoya Morgan, Jai Jamison Art/Ink: Paris Alleyene, Lea Caballero, Wilton Santos
Color: Gab Contreras, DJ Chavis Letterer: Andworld Design
Story: 7.25 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.1 Recommendation: Read

BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: TFAW – Kindle

Review: Afterlift

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Afterlift

Afterlift, a series that started out as a ComiXology Original, is making its way from digital to print. Thanks to a partnership with Dark Horse Comics, the collected edition of this original series will be available online and in bookstores on February 2nd, and then available in comic book shops on February 3rd. Written by Chip Zdarsky, Afterlift is a coming of age tale with elements of mythology. Zdarsky puts his own modern twist on the underworld mythos of the ancient Greeks.

Janice Chen, having recently quit her job in the finance industry, is content to spend her nights driving for a ride-share service. As the comic opens, things are preceding normally. Janice’s first-generation Mandarin parents want her to get a better job since she’s barely scraping by. However, the basic minimum wage pay doesn’t bother Janice as much the thought of a fare puking in the back of her car. Halfway through an otherwise normal night, Janice picks up a fare named Dumu. Before she knows it, she’s been drafted into service as a psychopomp.

For those unfamiliar with that word, a psychopomp is a being who escorts deceased souls to the afterlife. Think the Grim Reaper, or in the case of the Greek mythology Zdarsky uses for inspiration, Hermes and Charon. There’s also a bit of Christianity thrown into the mix as well. Just as she’s beginning to understand the predicament she finds herself in, Janice is set upon by demon bounty hunters. The demons are hell-bent (pun intended) on claiming the soul Janice is transporting for themselves.

Everything I’ve just described takes place in the first twenty-five pages of the graphic novel. From there, Afterlift becomes a thrill ride of car chases, fight scenes, and joyrides through the realms beyond the mortal plain. In addition, Zdarsky also reflects on faith and what it means to be a believer throughout the emotionally charged narrative. I also love that he chose an Asian woman as his main character. Many writers would be tempted to use a white Christian person. Janice was raised Buddhist and doesn’t believe in a final afterlife the way a Christian would. I found it fascinating to see a character with an understanding of Buddhism navigate (both metaphorically and literally) through and contemplate the implications of the existence of Hell.

Artist Jason Loo does a good job illustrating Afterlift, though his characters don’t look all that realistic. He does a great job drawing the car chase scenes and action sequences, but the scenes featuring characters talking to one another were lackluster by comparison. I did love the character design of the demons. Each is unique enough to tell apart from the others without them all looking like they come from different interpretations of hell.

Colorist Paris Alleyne does a great job of conveying time and setting through her color choices. I didn’t need a character to announce it was nighttime to instantly recognize the time of day in each scene. I also appreciate that Alleyne pays attention to the light source in each panel. For example, the portion of a panel underneath a streetlight is bright, while the other side of the panel is kept darker. Color touches such as these add realism to Loo’s illustrations, making me feel like I’m watching a complete story, rather than reading dialogue and then looking at the pictures.

I enjoyed the concepts and modern adaptations of mythology in Afterlift more than I enjoyed the actual plot. That being said, the story itself is really exciting, though I found it to be a little predictable. The artwork is solid if a bit underwhelming. It’s always easy to tell what’s going on in each panel, though some panels are more visually exciting than others. All in all, this graphic novel was a fun read, but it didn’t really wow me. Even though I wasn’t necessarily blown away, this is a series worth checking out. After all, it did win Eisner, Shuster, and Harvey awards last year.

Story: Chip Zdarsky Art: Jason Loo
Color: Paris Alleyne Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read

comiXology provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Amazon – Kindle – TFAW – Bookshop – Zeus Comics

Early Review: Afterlift

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Afterlift

Afterlift, a series that started out as a ComiXology Original, is making its way from digital to print. Thanks to a partnership with Dark Horse Comics, the collected edition of this original series will be available online and in bookstores on February 2nd, and then available in comic book shops on February 3rd. Written by Chip Zdarsky, Afterlift is a coming of age tale with elements of mythology. Zdarsky puts his own modern twist on the underworld mythos of the ancient Greeks.

Janice Chen, having recently quit her job in the finance industry, is content to spend her nights driving for a ride-share service. As the comic opens, things are preceding normally. Janice’s first-generation Mandarin parents want her to get a better job since she’s barely scraping by. However, the basic minimum wage pay doesn’t bother Janice as much the thought of a fare puking in the back of her car. Halfway through an otherwise normal night, Janice picks up a fare named Dumu. Before she knows it, she’s been drafted into service as a psychopomp.

For those unfamiliar with that word, a psychopomp is a being who escorts deceased souls to the afterlife. Think the Grim Reaper, or in the case of the Greek mythology Zdarsky uses for inspiration, Hermes and Charon. There’s also a bit of Christianity thrown into the mix as well. Just as she’s beginning to understand the predicament she finds herself in, Janice is set upon by demon bounty hunters. The demons are hell-bent (pun intended) on claiming the soul Janice is transporting for themselves.

Everything I’ve just described takes place in the first twenty-five pages of the graphic novel. From there, Afterlift becomes a thrill ride of car chases, fight scenes, and joyrides through the realms beyond the mortal plain. In addition, Zdarsky also reflects on faith and what it means to be a believer throughout the emotionally charged narrative. I also love that he chose an Asian woman as his main character. Many writers would be tempted to use a white Christian person. Janice was raised Buddhist and doesn’t believe in a final afterlife the way a Christian would. I found it fascinating to see a character with an understanding of Buddhism navigate (both metaphorically and literally) through and contemplate the implications of the existence of Hell.

Artist Jason Loo does a good job illustrating Afterlift, though his characters don’t look all that realistic. He does a great job drawing the car chase scenes and action sequences, but the scenes featuring characters talking to one another were lackluster by comparison. I did love the character design of the demons. Each is unique enough to tell apart from the others without them all looking like they come from different interpretations of hell.

Colorist Paris Alleyne does a great job of conveying time and setting through her color choices. I didn’t need a character to announce it was nighttime to instantly recognize the time of day in each scene. I also appreciate that Alleyne pays attention to the light source in each panel. For example, the portion of a panel underneath a streetlight is bright, while the other side of the panel is kept darker. Color touches such as these add realism to Loo’s illustrations, making me feel like I’m watching a complete story, rather than reading dialogue and then looking at the pictures.

I enjoyed the concepts and modern adaptations of mythology in Afterlift more than I enjoyed the actual plot. That being said, the story itself is really exciting, though I found it to be a little predictable. The artwork is solid if a bit underwhelming. It’s always easy to tell what’s going on in each panel, though some panels are more visually exciting than others. All in all, this graphic novel was a fun read, but it didn’t really wow me. Even though I wasn’t necessarily blown away, this is a series worth checking out. After all, it did win Eisner, Shuster, and Harvey awards last year. Afterlift will be available on February 2nd at bookstores and February 3rd at comic book shops.

Story: Chip Zdarsky Art: Jason Loo
Color: Paris Alleyne Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read

comiXology provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Amazon – Kindle – TFAW – Bookshop