-
Maskerade #1
- Writer:
- Kevin Smith, Andy McElfresh
- Artist:
- John Sprengelmeyer
- Letterer:
- Andrew Thomas
- Cover Artist:
- John Sprengelmeyer
- Publisher:
- Dark Horse Comics
- Price:
- 3.99
- Release Date:
- 2022-09-14
- Colorist:
- Giulia Brusco
Kevin Smith is a certified pop-culture fan who, in addition to being a famous filmmaker and actor, has also dabbled in the art of writing comic books for major publishers. Fresh off his stint as the showrunner behind the He-Man reboot, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Smith joins forces with fellow screenwriter Andy McElfresh and Dark Horse Comics to tell an all-new sci-fi crime drama. Set in a dystopian world, Maskerade is a tale of vengeance where one person unmasks the truth of a rotting city. With artwork from John Sprengelmeyer and Giulia Brusco and letters from Andrew Thomas, Maskerade #1 marks the debut of Smith's Secret Stash Press imprint and his dark vigilante.
Maskerade #1 welcomes readers to the corrupt city of Trenchen, often called the Trench by its citizens, where murder and debauchery are rampant. The story opens with a woman jumping from the lofty skyscraper, The Parapet. As she dies, her skin looks all wrinkled except her face. In another part of the city, two news anchors engage in illicit behavior as one of their spouses walks in on them. Dwayne currently has no job because of an earlier fiasco but soon gets an offer he won't be able to refuse. Elsewhere, a masked figure clad in black attacks an influential man engaged in heinous activities, looking to implement their own brand of vigilante justice.
Maskerade #1 opens with, for lack of a better word, a montage of narrative hooks that starts and stops the story at regular intervals. In movies where more frames pass by each second, it is easier to portray each storyline in the span of a few minutes. However, it does not translate well to comic books, a medium that requires readers to spend a moment with each panel. Smith and McElfresh start strong, giving each of the three narratives an in medias res heading that progressively snowballs into something greater than each of the characters individually -- except for the masked vigilante, who takes the story in a wholly different turn. There is darkness in the book masked well under the guise of human complexities and atrocities, something that the writers hint at throughout the script and narration.
John Sprengelmeyer's minimalistic artwork helps keep the panels clean and simple. Be it the closed interior of a green room or a street view of a road, the background imbues the settings with easily recognizable elements. The city of Trenchen especially looks lively and bustling on the outside, as it hides its ugliness in the alleyways and the housing within. Colorist Giulia Brusco changes color tones in every scene, which serves the dual purpose of setting the mood and shifting the locale in the same go. In the absence of heavy inking, Brusco uses alternate lighter and darker shades of the same base color to create definitions and highlights.
Maskerade #1 jumps from a story of a hapless woman falling to her death to another woman exacting retribution on those who wronged her, taking the audience on a ride from crime drama to a tale of vengeance. Kevin Smith shows that the city is just as hideous on its highest floor as it is at its lowest. Within each floor hides a story of lust, violence, and depravity. Using his masked protagonist, Smith tries to unmask the truth as he still keeps the narratives distanced from each other. As Maskerade #1 ends, it asks more questions than answers, in a way, turning the suspense into a thrill.