Carbon Grey Issue #2
STORY BY Hoang Nguyen, Paul Gardner ART BY Khari Evans, Kinsun Loh, Hoang Nguyen
This alternate history/steam punk action series is kicking into an even higher gear than the first issue. Carbon Grey is a tale of duty, honor and freedom set against the backdrop of a reimagining of World War I. The war rages on between the Allies and the Axis, the latter being lead by the Kaiser he is the “Carbon Grey” version of the real world Wilhelm II, the last emperor of Germany. The Kaiser is protected by the ultra tough and highly skilled killers the Grey sisters that is until his demise at the hands of one of the Grey Sisters (refer to issue# 1). This issue is packed with even more action to the point that the panel on the page can barely contain the breathtakingly rendered images.
Issue 2 opens with the demise of the Allied command at the hands of a Kaiser zealot. The lone survivor is Captain Marber who wanders the desolate battlefield dazed until he meets up with two of the Grey Sisters. With the world crashing around them due to their hands in the death of the Kaiser, the remaining Grey Sisters seek out their rogue sister, Giselle. With only one place to go, Giselle finds herself face to face with the cruel man only known as Mentor with whom she must excise the demons of her past.
The art in this book could easily be the best art of the year, hands down. Each panel is a separate work of art that could be found hanging in a
gallery in some posh city. The art conveys so much emotion from the deserted shell-shocked battlefields to the kinetic energy of a busy city street. The colors are so crisp but at the same time are able to convey the muddiness of the warzone and dirt-covered faces of the soldiers who occupy it. The overall steam punk-like feel of the book goes well with the painted look.
From a writing standpoint, this book is solid as well. Hoang and Gardner do a great job cramming a lot of story into the first two issues of this series. The overall plot of the book feels original in nature while capturing that feel of an older relative telling war stories of a bygone age.
This book has taken a long time to get made and so far has come out at a good clip but it is a book that we could easily wait long stretches of time for…it is a visual feast of a book. Pick up this sleeper hit before it flies off the shelf in some sort of steamy punky Zeppelin.
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