It took me a bit of time and a bit of money, but I am officially caught up and ready to review Sheltered, a series from Image that I did not check out when it first started. I don’t know why I didn’t, since the concept does harken back to other books and series that I like (e.g. The Drifting Classroom or Lord of the Flies). Now that the newest issue has come out, let us figure out the answer to: Is it good?
Sheltered #7 (Image Comics)
Things are descending into chaos at Safe Haven (not that they weren’t already, but even more so than usual) with the arrival of three men from the outside world. After Curt takes a shot, things go haywire and two of the men are killed while the other makes a run for it into the woods. As Lucas has some of the kids hunt him down, Victoria confronts Mitch about why he wants to talk to her.
Just another beautiful and bloody day in Safe Haven.
Having read all of the series in a row so I could catch myself up to review it, I have to say; this is a very breezy series. It’s breezy in the sense that you could easily read through an entire issue in less than 10 minutes and absorb almost everything about it. This issue is no exception to that, and I found myself done with it in no time. That’s not a bad thing at all though and it’s easy to understand why the comic is such a quick read. It’s a tight, tense suspense ride all the way through and it will not let go of you, making you want to read more quickly to see what happens. It’s a comic that keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire ride through with all of its twists and turns, with this issue, again, being no exception.
Another great thing about this series is the characters themselves. Ed Brisson writes characters who are very memorable and well fleshed out, allowing you insight into what kind of individual each of them are, with how they treat each other or interact, handle their new situations, and react to each new conflict that rears its ugly head. It’s well done in general, though one can’t help but wonder two things at this point from what we have learned about the characters and the plot. First, even if they were to kill the runaway guy, that wouldn’t really solve their problems for long (all those men had families who knew where they were and cared about them) as the cops would eventually show up. Second, given what they have done and how they act (at best, there’s only three truly likeable individuals one would want to root for), these kids would have killed their parents sooner or later even if they didn’t do so before.
Lucas has watched 2012 waaaaaayy too many times, don’t you get it?
Regardless, the writing in general is good in the comic. It’s a quick read, but there’s still a lot going on in every issue and there’s really no sense of decompression at all, in comparison to other comics that go by quickly. The dialogue is solid and effectively characterized everyone, built tension, and instilled the overall eeriness of the situation at times. The story is well structured and flows smoothly, so it never feels disjointed and helps with how well it reads. The cliffhanger is good as well and helps to keep the audience interested in seeing what happens next.
John Christmas’ artwork looks great. It’s not something I would want in my more superhero-y books, but it works wonderfully in this bleak and gritty story. It really helps capture a lot of the atmosphere and suspense at points with its color scheme (works well with the backgrounds, even if they are often empty). The characters are very unique looking, with not a single character looking the same at all. The facial expressions are pretty good as well, capturing that emotion going through the characters at time. This artwork just really helps elevate this book a lot.
Hey! I said four names and there are only three of you! Where’d the other guy go?
Is It Good?
Sheltered #7 is a solid and really well done issue that really captures the dark heart of this series. It’s an intense, fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat story with great looking artwork that will leave you wanting more. Definitely recommended and worth your time.
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