Ei8ht #3+4

Time is almost up!

As Dr. Hamm and the black-ops soldier Collins try to survive in the prehistoric past, the fierce warrior Nila and the chrononaut Joshua attempt to convince the rebel council to take up arms against the Tyrant before he releases a dangerous scourge and wipes them all from the face of the Meld!

Writer:

Rafael Albuquerque

Mike Johnson

Artist:

Rafael Albuquerque

Publisher:

Dark Horse

The fun thing about time travel stories is that they don't have to make sense, as long as they provide an enjoyable narrative and a satisfying payoff to the initial set up. The second half of Rafael Alnuquerque and Mike Johnson's stellar time travelling pulp tale satisfies on both fronts.

This issue helps resolve a lot of the mystery surrounding the first few issues,whilst linking the differing time streams together into one. It's a tale that's broadly sketched in the best of possible terms, as Joshua and Nila form the emotional core of a piece where a literal Nazi villain faces off against a persecuted minority that acts as an amalgamation of all the different beliefs on nomadic life. It's to the scripts credit that it focuses more on action and keeping everything going than the broadly silly plot, but it also doesn't seem to be afraid of that more silly side either, embracing it and making it just another component of a winning story.

Thrown into this is Albuquerque's art, with its ragged, kinetic look. I've spoken praises about this before and I have to repeat it again. The way he makes all the different time periods work with the colouring is a masterclass in subtly- even scenes that don't show a skyline find a way to indicate what time period they are a part of, by utilising broad brushstrokes in the background or by incorporating it into the clothing of characters or a part of a key object. The effect is such that it's effortless to keep track of what is happening, something that is a lot easier said than done and which makes it all the more impressive.

If there are any down points, is that the story loses a bit of steam once the 4^th issue draws to a close with the promise of a battle between the nomadic tribes and the Nazi lead armies. There was no real build up to it, nor really a chance to get to know the tribe itself, other than when they tried to impede the main characters progress. As such, suddenly asking us to care about them is perhaps a step too far.

Besides that though, I enjoyed both issues so much. With next issue being its final one, it's well worth checking out the other issues now. Even if the writing isn't up to much, those who like something visually attesting to look at won't be disappointed.

Cover image courtesy of Dark Horse

Ei8ht is available from Dark Horse.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.

Ei8ht #2

Chrononaut Joshua is stuck in the dimension known as the Meld, captured by a camp of rebels that oppose the maniacal Tyrant and his champion, the Spear. When Joshua remembers his mission, the past and the future collide to reveal the peril he must face.

Writers:

Rafael Albuquerque

Mike Johnson

Artist:

Rafael Albuquerque

Publisher:

Dark Horse

Issue 2 of this very visually striking comic takes it down a notch in terms of action, but its solid continuing storyline and intriguing central mystery is enough to make up for it.

Following on from last issue, Joshua starts to remember part of why (if not how) he ended up in The Meld, whilst the people he has ended up with decide what it is they are to do with the stranger who has appeared from nowhere. Meanwhile in a side story we have a professor travelling to a jungle to discover something, which naturally, goes horribly wrong.

The topsy turvy nature of the narrative and how some storylines seem to be happening in both the past and present at the same time certainly kept me guessing. The ways of presenting each time period, with different background colours that still work with the scenes they are a part of, is really well done, perhaps down to the Rafael Albuquerque being in charge of all the art duties as well as joint writer.

Being able to have such control means that it really feels like a well rounded project that has every single part working in synch. As mentioned before, it's more of an issue that feels like adding in plot  points to be picked up on later than anything conclusive, but the set-ups are great and the artwork is killing it for me on every panel. Somehow Albuquerque have made even something as mundane as a conversation between two characters on panel seem visually striking.

All in all, a steady continuation of last issue. Readers still interested in checking out the series should start from issue 1 and get this one at the same time before it all kicks off in the next few issues.

Cover image available from Dark Horse.

Ei8ht is available from Dark Horse

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.

Ei8ht #1

Welcome to the Meld, an inhospitable dimension in time where Joshua, a chrononaut, finds himself trapped. With no memory or feedback from the team of scientists that sent him, he can’t count on anything but his heart and a stranger’s voice to guide him to his destiny.

Writer(s):

Rafael Albuquerque

Mike Johnson

Artist:

Rafael Albuquerque

Publisher:

Dark Horse

Hey you – stop reading now. No don't worry about me, the review will be here to read after you've finished reading Ei8ht #1, I promise. But for now, if you read this issue before you read anything else, you'll enjoy it more.

Look, you can even buy it here now. So just go and do it already!...

...Have you finished? Good. Do you get why I wanted you to read it before carrying on? If you're sneaky or were just unwilling to trust me when I said you needed to read the comic, well I suppose you've missed the most interesting part of Ei8ht, which is all about discovery. Ei8ht is a time travel story, with a great twist – our main character is aware he travelled through time, but beyond that his memories are vague and insubstantial.

The first half of this issue takes us along with Joshua as he tries to make sense of the scraps of memory his has. We get an actual sense of him beginning to piece together fragments of his memory, from flashes of the recent past that fade into swirls of colour.  You can really tell an artist wrote this, as the script and art work together almost seamlessly, with Albuquerque's hardbitten style working lending some grit to an otherwise quite rather odd tale.

The colour choices feel perfect too – everything feels off just slightly, which accentuated the strangeness of 'The Meld', a so far unexplained area which features everything from punk warriors to dinosaur riding knights. Rafael's gift as a visual storyteller is to be able to convey the essence of someone's personality in their stance alone. It means that even characters that would come across as fierce, can to have hidden depths that express their humanity, whilst the villains' of the piece are truly terrifying and seem to dominate a page. All of this you can pick up from one panel, which the rest of the panels reinforce. One panel. Fuck me, that's good.

As with all time travel stories there seems to be some sort of trickery at play as a couple off things happen which suggest we may not be experiencing the whole story.

Ei8ht left me confused, intrigued and just wanting to know where it all goes next. Isn't that why we most of us started reading comics in the first place?

Cover image courtesy of Dark Horse.

Ei8ht #1 is available from Dark Horse.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.