Review: Shokwave - Book 2
An Anthology From Kult Creations
Another successful Kickstarter campaign and the physical books are out there in the wild. From Kult Creations, this is the second anthology comic - Shokwave.
With a good mix of stories within, you can check out:
NOSFERATU II written by John A. Short and illustrated by David Hitchcock. The sequel to the 1922 silent horror movie classic. This issue – The untold origin of Count Orlok – the nosferatu himself in INFERNAL RITUALS!
THE CLOCK STRIKES! Written by John A. Short and illustrated by new artist Adam Jakes. The return of comicbooks original masked hero! A NOIR encounter in a New York sewer... A literal UNDERWORLD!
ANNA KEY written by John A. Short and illustrated in full colour by Chris Askham. Sci-fi craziness! A tale of drugs, fast food, dancing and legal entanglements as Anna takes up her post as the NEW LAW in Rox City!
RESISTORS written by John A. Short and illustrated in full colour by Richard Pester. A near future robot revolution! Visit 'Uncanny Valley' – a disused shopping centre and the hideout for the newly escaped synthidroids in MAKEOVER!
Nosferatu II kicks us off well with a dark and foreboding story. It’s well told with some good pacing and dark aspects. The storytelling style is excellent, and as with all the stories here, we get a refresher page telling us what happened before. Even so, this story is self-contained and gives us some history of the box (and its remains). I love the art style; it takes you into the classic cinema feeling. The titular bloodsucker is an interesting character, and hopefully, we will get more as he is feeling more than a force of (super)nature!
The Clock Strikes combines some classic Dick Tracy with The Shadow. I love the style of this issue, and the setting - in the city's underground sewers - is a perfect setting for this story. The combination of the gang hitmen and the police in the sewers, along with the mystery of The Clock, works really well. We get a look behind the curtain here, but it is well played out and adds to the story.
I think The Clock plays well on the Batman trope of criminals being superstitious, and this is a perfect example of that storytelling.
In a change of pace, Anna Key combines a good fish-out-of-water story with some fun science fiction ideas and good comedy. The combination of Anna and her new assistant on the police force works really well, and I like how this issue plays out. There is a bit of a groaner at the end, but the story plays out well, and the combination of all the characters is excellent. We are getting a good feeling for this world, and some new characters are introduced, which may be called back later. The ongoing problem of the new creatures is well played out and looks to continue. Some fun art and angles in this story, and I like some of the more ‘spaced out’ scenes.
Finishing up with some different science fiction, Resistors gives us a good rundown after the previous rescue. I like how this story plays out, with some introductions and good back-and-forth conversation. As a reader, we feel we are asking some of the questions and getting the information. There is a nice twist at the end, which initially feels a little jarring, but as the reasoning comes in, it is worth a flick back a couple of pages to appreciate the story aspect.
Some good fun with the art here, with new body parts and expressions from those ‘bot’ being fixed. I like the way that plays out.
Check out Kult Creations with all their other books, including Shokwave, Helga Frankenstein and Reverend Cross as well as the latest news by clicking the button below:
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