Review: The Twilight Children TPB
When a white orb washes up on the shore of a remote Latin American village, a group of children poke at the strange object to see what it is. The orb explodes, leaving the children completely blind. And when a beautiful young woman who may be an alien is found wandering the seafront, she’s taken in by the townspeople, but soon becomes a person of interest to a pair of CIA agents, and the target of affection for a young scientist.
Collecting the four issue Vertigo series written by Gilbert Hernandez with art by Darwyn Cooke and colors by Dave Stewart, The Twilight Children is an interesting series that feels more like a concept than a full fleshed out story and that seems to be on purpose.
Hernandez’s story is interesting in that it presents a sci-fi(ish) story without a lot of specifics. What are the orbs? Who is Ela? None of that is really explained as much of the story is left up to the readers to interpret and explore themselves. And that’s what’s fascinating is that you can read the story multiple times and come away with something different each time. It’s a story where you notice something new, or come up with a new theory with each read. It’s the open ended nature of the series that’s one of the best draws about it.
Of course Cooke’s art is the draw. It’s damn near perfect in almost every way enhanced by Stewart’s coloring. The two together are a match made in heaven. Cooke’s designs, as with everything he has done, are unique stylized and beautiful to look at. The art is just amazing to look at and kept me engaged with the story as the narrative itself is rather slow on its own. In many ways the story is beautiful, and Cooke’s art makes that apparent and makes sure the reader notices.
If you’re looking for a story with a story completely laid out, this isn’t for you. But, if you’re looking for an interesting sci-fi story that leaves a lot for the reader to decide and piece together this one’s for you. It’s a story that leaves the reader to put together as much as what’s presented by its creative team.
Story: Gilbert Hernandez Art: Darwyn Cooke Colors: Dave Stewart
Story: 7.9 Art: 10 Overall: 8.1 Recommendation: Read
DC Comics/Vertigo provided Graphic Policy with a FREE Copy for review
Judge Dredd #2 (IDW) This is one of the more interesting Judge Dredd stories I’ve read in a long time; by taking the urban judge, jury, and executioner out of his most well known setting, we get to see a fish out of water as Dredd tries to enforce the law in a lawless land. Although far from a comedy book, there are some laugh out loud one liners here – frequently at Dredd’s expense. And before you ask, you don’t need to be a fan of Mega City One’s most famous citizen to enjoy this comic. Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy
Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers #3 (IDW Publishing) – Not the strongest Transformers series. I think this one is for folks who have read the previous Wreckers stories, which I haven’t. Still, some interesting stuff here that expands the Transformers IDW Universe. Overall: 6.8 Recommendation: Pass
Monstress #3 (Image Comics) – Just when I don’t think this series and world can get more interesting, it somehow does. This is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Overall: 8.7 Recommendation: Buy
Superman #48 (DC Comics)* – So we can tell we are getting to the end of the line with the great Clark Kent experiment as he continues on his quest to regain his powers. So far it’s taken him to friends, foes, amazons and now the last thing you thought you’d ever see is kryptonite. While this story arc has done wonders for revamping Vandal Savage, the rest has fallen severely flat. Of course I’m more than excited for Superman to be back in full force, but I’m weary of the writing. You want a great Superman title? Read Lois and Clark monthly. The countdown to issue 50 is on. Will the launch be successful? Time will tell. The cliffhanger here was interesting though. Multiple artists on this issue dragged it down a bit for me visually however. The sooner we get Superman back. The better. Story: 7 Art: 6 Overall: Read
The Twilight Children #4 (Vertigo)** – Something of an underwhelming finale to Gilbert Hernandez and Darwyn Cooke’s otherwise-exceptional series, nothing is explained here so much as it’s simply concluded. Certainly plenty of food for thought here and Cooke turns in arguable the best single issue of his entire career (which is saying something!), but I honestly don’t know how much of what’s left hanging is as a result of Hernandez deliberately channeling his inner David Lynch, or if he just couldn’t think of any explanations for the phenomena he was presenting and gave up trying. An intriguing way to wrap things up, for sure — but perhaps for the wrong reasons. I have a feeling this series will have a small but loyal cult attach itself to it in the years to come, while everybody else will just sort of scratch their heads and wonder what all the fuss is about. Story: 6 Art: 10 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Buy
