Featured Review: @ImageComics Dark Engine #1 @rburton03 @John_Bivens

Dark Engine #1

With ribsword in hand, with gore in her curling locks, Sym has been sent to the distant past to murder her creators' enemies.

But the twisted alchemists who made Sym do not know that the engine that powers her is sentient, that it is the seed of their destruction. By blood and by fury, Sym will carve out her destiny in this new ongoing series.

Preview

Review

See the Review Rating Overview page for more information on how I rate each comic

Cover & Solicit 4/5

This issues cover was done by interior artist John Bivens (The Grave Doug Freshley). It's an excellent portrayal of his art style and what you find in this issue.

Art, Colors & Inking 4/5

The art in this issue is from newcomer John Bivens who also provides his own colors. His art is outstanding and really tells most of the story. I also like the different mediums and techniques he uses for shading and coloring.

Layout & Flow 1/5

Being the first issue I expected a little buildup and plot layout, but this seemed to be missing in this issue. I understand the writer wanted to have the art tell the story but at times that alone didn't work. I'm still not sure what the story was about and toward the end Biven's art was all over the place and didn't help with that.

Story 2/5

The creator of this series is Ryan Burton (Dead End Boys, The Adventures of Roopster Roux). I really wanted to like this series. From the initial preview of Biven's art it looked like a winner. The issue starts off with Sym going thru the jungle and killing savage beasts. This was a great start, but then it seemed to go south. We get a small interlude with the creators or individuals who are controlling Sym like a puppet. We also get information about the Dark Engine. Maybe it was too much information thrown at you at once. I believe if they paced their conversation out over the action scenes maybe it would have been easier to follow. And that's where the story stops, the rest is just image after image and the last few pages are just unrecognizable with what's going on.

Verdict - 2.7 - (5.5/10) - (Buy Dark Engine) SAVE 10%

I really hoped for great things for the first issue of Dark Engine. From the first preview of Biven's art I was hooked. However the pacing and flow of the issue especially for being the first is really hard to follow. There are times of brilliance but for the most part I was left confused. Just as the story gets going we are left with 9 pages of fantastic art but with no clear idea of what just happened. My hopes are still high for this series and I'm hoping issue 2 is better.