#IReadsYou Review: SURFACING #9

SURFACING #9
APPROBATION COMICS

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Nato Magalhães
COLORS: Santtos
LETTERS: Krugos with Jahch & J< Yellodragon
EDITORS: Denise Thompson and John Ward
MISC. ART: Cesar Grego with Alivon Ortiz
COVER: Cesar Grego with Alivon Ortiz
24pp, Color, $4.99 U.S.

Rated: “M” for Mature

“Psychic Touch”

Surfacing is a comic book franchise created by B. Alex Thompson and published by Approbation Comics.  The four-issue miniseries, Surfacing: Depth Perceptions, focuses on a series of encounters, sometimes violent, between humans and mermaid-like creatures.  The eponymous Surfacing is an anthology series in which each issue offers a story in which a mermaid finds herself trapped in or confronting the world of humans.

One of the more recent standalone Surfacing stories is “Psychic Touch.”  It is written by Thompson, drawn by Nato Magalhães; colored by Santtos; and lettered by Krugos with Jahch & J< Yellodragon.

Surfacing #9 (“Psychic Touch”) opens in an unnamed city.  An unnamed young man sits on his bed while using his laptop to search the job listings at a website named “KruJobs.”  He doesn't find anything of interest until he comes across a listing for “Local Paid Clinical Trial.”  The next morning, he is at a medical building where a bizarre surgery is performed upon him.  A few hours later, he has the ability to sense the feelings and emotions of others.  That leads to good things, bad things, and strange things when he meets some creatures of fantasy and myth.

THE LOWDOWN:  I enjoyed the miniseries, Surfacing: Depth Perceptions, very much.  However, I prefer the ongoing Surfacing series, not only because it is an anthology, but also because it really showcases B. Alex Thompson's imaginative storytelling.

On occasion, Thompson has written stories that go right over my head, which “Psychic Touch” does, to an extent.  “Psychic Touch” does not have any dialogue, but it is not a pantomime comic because it does have caption boxes and lettering effects.  Thompson offers an interesting concept, but the mermaid elements seem not thrown in so much as out of place.  Still, I think this premise does merit further exploration.

The art team of illustrator Nato Magalhães and colorist Santtos are good for this story, partly because their art is similar to Surfacing's regular art team of Ricardo Mendez and Alivon Ortiz.  Magalhães' compositions capture the vague but menacing atmosphere of this premise while Santtos' colors capture the shifting emotional states of the characters and also how jarring the changes in settings and environments in this story can be.  In conveying how overwhelming emotions and feelings can be for a psychic, Krugos and company successful pull that off in an interesting style.

I recommend Surfacing #9 to regular readers of this series, and I think readers looking for something offbeat will also like it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of fantasy comic books published by DC Comics' late imprint, Vertigo, will want to read Surfacing.

B+
7 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.ApprobationComics.com
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: SURFACING #4

SURFACING #4
APPROBATION COMICS

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Kevin Richardson
COLORS: Santtos
LETTERS: Krugos
EDITOR: Denise Thompson
MISC. ART: Kevin Richardson
COVER/BACK COVER: Cesar Grego and Alivon Ortiz
32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (2019)

Rated: “M” for Mature

“The Milkmaids and the Mermaid”

Surfacing is a comic book franchise created by B. Alex Thompson and published by Approbation Comics.  The four-issue miniseries, Surfacing: Depth Perceptions, focuses on a series encounters, sometimes violent, between humans and mermaid-like creatures.  The eponymous Surfacing is an anthology series in which each issue offers a story in which a mermaid finds herself trapped in the world of humans.  Besides Thompson, artist Kevin Richardson; colorist Santtos; letterer Krugos, and cover artists Cesar Grego and Alivon Ortiz currently comprise Surfacing's creative team.

Surfacing #4 (“The Milkmaids and the Mermaid”) opens in the 1400s in Holland (then, a western province of The Netherlands).  In the town of Edam, in West Friesland (a region in North Holland) resides the Ruis family:  Papa, Mama, and sisters, Berna and Gisla.  A recent heavy storm raised the waters of the North Sea and destroyed the dykes, flooding the nearby lands.

Berna and Gisla (the “milkmaids” of the story's title) are in a small canoe rescuing the family's dairy cows when they spot a human hand sticking out of the water.  Upon investigation, the girls find and rescue a mermaid, and bring her back to their farm.

Papa Ruis, despite objections from Mama Ruis, tends to the mermaid's injuries.  Eventually, they take the mermaid into the family – like an indentured servant and prisoner – and name her “Elin.”  After several years, Elin becomes a local curiosity, “Elin the Zeewijf.”  But what is “Elin's” real story?  Where does she come from, and how does she view her stay in the human world?  Is this a heaven or a hell, and what does her future hold?

THE LOWDOWN:  As much as I enjoyed the miniseries, Surfacing: Depth Perceptions, I did not know what to expect of the Surfacing anthology, which was apparently intended to be a three-issue miniseries.  However, I can always rely on writer B. Alex Thompson's imagination.

Initially, Thompson presented Surfacing in a way that reminded me of dark fantasy, anthology television series like the classic  “The Twilight Zone” (1959 to 1964) and the 1980s “Tales from the Darkside.”  The third issue of the series even offered a tale set in the “old West, “A Promise of Home,” that reminded me of American “Western” films.

“The Milkmaids and the Mermaid” reveals a different side of Thompson.  His best known work includes horror, comedy, relationship drama, horror-comedy, and contemporary drama.  However, Thompson sometimes reveals a side of his writing the skews toward fantasy and fairy tales.  That is what “The Milkmaids and the Mermaid” is, a fairy tail, albeit a melancholy one.  This story is not so much about plot, character, or setting as it is simply a story.  It is the kind of tale of the supernatural that pops up from time to time in one book of fairy tails or another.  Once it comes into existence, it never dies.  It just waits to be rediscovered or told again.  [There is a Dutch folktale, “Meermin van Edam,” of which there are a number of variations, that may have inspired “The Milkmaids and the Mermaid.”]

Artist Kevin Richardson presents an imaginative take on the deep waters world of the mermaids.  However, Richardson also conveys the banal evil of slavery and the dishonesty of those who insist that they can do anything in the name of bringing god to the savages and heathens.  The coloring by Santtos eschews pretty hues less this fairy tale becomes a lie, and Krugos makes the art feel like a narrative told on tapestry.

I am glad that there is a Surfacing #4, and “The Milkmaids and the Mermaid” is the kind of surprising and wonderful story that justifies more Surfacing.  So I hope more issues of this series … surface.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of fantasy comic books published by DC Comics' late imprint, Vertigo, will want to read Surfacing.

A+
10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.ApprobationComics.com
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: SURFACING #3

SURFACING #3 (OF 3)
APPROBATION COMICS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Nenad Cviticanin
COLORS: Santtos
LETTERS: Krugos
EDITOR: John Ward and Denise Thompson
COVER/BACK COVER: Cesar Grego and Alivon Ortiz
32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. / $1.99 digital-comic (2018; digital release date – November 7, 2018)

Rated: “M” for Mature / 17+ Only (comiXology)

“A Promise of Home”

Surfacing is a three-issue comic book miniseries published by Approbation Comics.  Surfacing is a horror anthology, with each issue offering a different story based on a similar theme – a violent encounter with mermaid-like creatures (which are the subject of the four-issue miniseries, Surfacing: Depth Perceptions).  Surfacing is written by B. Alex Thompson; drawn by Nenad Cviticanin; colored by Santtos; and lettered by Krugos, with gorgeous cover art drawn by Cesar Grego and Alivon Ortiz.

Surfacing #3 (“A Promise of Home”) opens somewhere in the American West, sometime in the 1800s.  There and then, we meet Bennet Ramirez, Amos Parker, Kit Taylor, Zeke Breen, Elijah Hart, and Jasper Doolin.  They are a roving gang of armed stagecoach robbers.  After their latest... successful campaign they visit a small wild west town to cash in on their loot.

It seems that a traveling circus has also set up in that town, and Kit Taylor, considered a bit sanctimonious by some of his lot, visits the circus.  There, he discovers a wondrous and captivating creature, a being that will decide Kit's fate and that of his fellow thieves.

When I first prepared to read Surfacing #2, I did not know what to expect of it, especially after I had enjoyed Surfacing: Depth Perceptions so very much.  It turned out that I thoroughly enjoyed Surfacing #2, which was and is a truly exceptional single-issue comic book story.

Surfacing reminds me of dark fantasy anthology series like the classic  “The Twilight Zone” (1959 to 1964) and the 1980s “Tales from the Darkside.”  Both series feature stories set in the present, as well as in the past and the future.  Surfacing #3's “A Promise of Home” is set in the “Wild West” that is familiar to audiences via American “Western” films.

However, at its heart is a timeless tale of star-crossed lovers, in which the author somewhat downplays the fantasy and the horror fiction aspects of the story.  B. Alex Thompson, as he has done in some of his other anthology work (like his Amour series), depicts real human emotions and feelings in a fantastic setting and allows the humanity to dominate.

Artist Nenad Cviticanin delivers lovely art and excellent storytelling. Cviticanin's clean, “clear-line” style is evocative and focuses in on the most important aspects of the story.  He depicts the “American West” in a way that is recognizable to readers, but he saves his storytelling prowess for a truly powerful ending, with its love-at-first-sight angle.  The coloring by Santtos captures the strength of the story with subtlety and grace, and Krugos' lettering is gentle and effective.

Of course, I am crazy about the cover illustration by artists Cesar Grego and Alivon Ortiz, and I'd like to see more of their work.  Surfacing #3 makes me wish Thompson would produce more Surfacing, especially with this exceptional group of collaborators.

9 out of 10

Buy Surfacing #3 at comiXology.

www.ApprobationComics.com
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: SURFACING #2

SURFACING No. 2 (OF 3)
APPROBATION COMICS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Nenad Cviticanin
COLORS: Santtos
LETTERS: Krugos
EDITOR: John Ward and Denise Thompson
COVER/BACK COVER: Cesar Grego and Alivon Ortiz
32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. / $1.99 digital-comic (2018; digital release date – October 31, 2018)

Rated: “M” for Mature / 17+ Only (comiXology)

Surfacing: Depth Perceptions is a four-issue science fiction and horror comic book that focuses on the drama and conflict that plays out between two friends and a mermaid at a oceanic research facility.  Before that series, there is an earlier comic book, simply entitled Surfacing, which is also published by Approbation Comics

Surfacing is a three-issue comic book miniseries, and it is written by Approbation Comics' mastermind B. Alex Thompson.  Surfacing is a horror anthology, with each issue apparently offering a different story based on a similar theme – a violent encounter with a mermaid-like creature.  Like Surfacing: Depth Perceptions, Surfacing is written by B. Alex Thompson; drawn by Nenad Cviticanin; colored by Santtos; and lettered by Krugos, with gorgeous cover art drawn by Cesar Grego and Alivon Ortiz.

Surfacing #2 opens on a rural highway in the state of Michigan, circa 1970s.  A young woman named Daisy is hitchhiking when she hops a ride with four friends:  Mary and her boyfriend, Justin, and Mary's best friend, Lisa, and Justin's best friend, Bobby.  The quintet stops at a small gas station and grocery store, where the elderly proprietor warns them against going “upriver,” where these young people plan to enjoy some swimming.  Of course, they ignore him; of course, they suffer dearly for it.

I did not know what to expect of Surfacing, especially after I so enjoyed Surfacing: Depth Perceptions.  It turned out that I thoroughly enjoyed Surfacing #2, which reminds me of dark fantasy anthology series like the classic  “The Twilight Zone” (1959 to 1964) and the 1980s “Tales from the Darkside.”  Damn, once again, B. Alex Thompson, one of my “Top 5” comic book writers, kills it.  I had a blast reading this comic book.  In fact, I think Thompson would have made a better choice than Stephen King's brat, Joe Hill, to write TNT's planned “Tales from the Darkside” reboot, which ultimately went nowhere, of course.

Once again, artist Nenad Cviticanin delivers lovely art and excellent storytelling.  Cviticanin's clean drawing style seamlessly moves from character interplay to kinetic action to horror fully realized.  This is like a teen slasher movie with a sprinkle of the classic film, Jaws.  The coloring by Santtos is equally smooth, but also consistent.  Every page, regardless of the action, has the same color scheme, which helps the transition from the tension of slow boil to blood-letting intensity creep up on the reader.

As they did for Surfacing: Depth Perception, artists Cesar Grego and Alivon Ortiz draw fantastic cover art for Surfacing.  The front cover offers a striking layout design, and the back cover art captures the fun of summer, but drops in the premonition of summer camp doom.

Yes, I'm going there:  Surfacing rises to the top!

9 out of 10

Buy Surfacing #2 at comiXology.

www.ApprobationComics.com
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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