“Life is about working with others, Miles! Everyone needs help!”
Despite winning the legal battle over ownership of his character, The Domain, Syd Dallas and his family plan to move forward with creating their own company and publication of The Domain. Despite David supporting his father’s ambitious endeavor, David struggles to reconcile his own ego with being a writer, and the perceptions of being a comics writer. Will David let his own fears and disappointments prevent him from pushing his future forward, or will he let it go to waste?
Zdarsky pulls no punches about the hardships and truths that come with working in the field of comics. Whether it’s dealing with fanboys, snobby, highbrow spectators, descendants that don’t appreciate comics as a literary medium due to the over-exposure of (and stereotypical view on) superheroes, or perceiving comics as solely exclusive to children (when like any medium such as film, television, literature or games, there is always stories suited for everyone), the financial challenges of working in comics, the legal battles that come with intellectual properties, work for hire, and legacy.
Zdarsky lays it all to bear in this book while cleverly intertwining all of these themes with Miles and David’s journey as they try to help their father gain what he rightfully deserved for all those years working on The Domain. Juggling the past and present of characters as the cats try to reconcile past mistakes while attempting to embrace new perspectives is what Zdarsky expertly delivers in this issue. Especially when shifting some of the focus on characters such as Tanya, Mohammed, and David who are all endearing and loveable as Syd and his wife Candy.
Zdarsky is an excellent illustrator and this is nothing new. His ability by making use of gesture, expression, color pallets, and page layouts allows for the story to properly convey the emotions and transparency that the characters thematically convey throughout the book. Whether it’s the use of pastel color pallets, simple yet effective layouts, and solid lettering that compliments the entirety of the book, the one thing that shines through about this issue and the series thus far, is dreams and the importance of fully realizing those dreams despite adversity. This is another strong, if not stronger installment of this series thus far, and its worth picking up for new comic book day.
Newsdesk