Writer : Ed Brisson
Artist: C.P Smith
Letterer: Hasson Otsmane-Elhaou
Wyatt, a professional thief living off the grid, is recruited by his brother for one last job. Their target: an armoured car travelling down a desolate stretch of California highway. But when it turns out that their target is carrying not gold bars but human cargo, Wyatt is plunged into a conflict between warring factions of a doomsday cult. The cult claims that it is their solemn duty to save the world by means of human sacrifice. Will Wyatt protect the boy who has come into his charge? Or will he be swayed by the cult’s increasingly convincing claims that the end of the world is fast approaching?
Thoughts…Now you know me well enough by now to know that whenever AWA releases a new title I think it is the best thing since sliced bread and to be fair they are always great but there is something special about this one. First impressions as I began to read was the art style seemed off but as I kept reading all thoughts of anything other than the story faded away, I was hooked from page 2. The writing in this issue is great, the dialogue and pacing are great, the little story hooks and the way things all go down are near perfect. You instantly warm to Wyatt and his brother Jasper as they sit and catch up, they are likeable rogues and their connection pulls you deeper into the story.
I mentioned the art at the start, now it is all subjective and as they say in the eye of the beholder, but the art style does go with the story. Special mention (and I should do this more often) to the lettering throughout the issue as the letters change font and style as the tones of what is being said shift and I really liked that.
As for the story itself, the solicitation does give the game away for this first issue but don’t let that make you think there isn’t more depth to what happens here. I genuinely think this is the best issue 1 of 2023 from AWA and I really want to read on, I wish this had been released as a trade like Gatsby as this has my full attention and I think this will be a hard series to beat, but we all know AWA are a never ending factory of awesome books. This book is an instant 9 out of 10 for me, I really want to know what happens next and if I had been given all the issues at once I wouldn’t have been able to put it down. I know we are only half way through 2023 but this could be book of the year….
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