Every Last One #2 Review – Murder, Mystery & Powers of Persuasion
How about a return to the supernatural serial killer thriller starring a shadowy group of orphans with potent powers of persuasion being picked off while a scarfaced detective with a past attempts to piece the puzzle together in art with a subtle style and grace, full of impactful storytelling? You won't need your arm twisted to want Every Last One issue two and the complete collection, coming soon to Kickstarter from Gary Chudleigh and Daniel Coloma.
Gary Chudleigh is a Scottish award-winning author and screenwriter hailing from Glasgow. Gary's previous works include LEGO comics with characters from Ninjago, The Avengers and Spiderman, personal IP Plagued The Miranda Chronicles, a one-page short for Killtopia Nanojam and an upcoming adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Thief of Time.
Daniel Coloma is a Spanish freelance illustrator from Madrid. Dani's previous works include Los Silios de Zaragoza II, Agents of MI7 and Sagas Of The Shield Maiden Volume 1.
Jack Lothian is the editor for Every Last One. Jack is a screenwriter for film and television. His graphic novel Tomorrow was nominated for a 2018 British Fantasy Award.
Lettering comes courtesy of fan favourite and hugely admired here at CBNUK, Rob Jones. Rob is a UK-based Letterer and writer with a fantastic body of work, including for the likes of Image Comics, Scout Comics and Heavy Metal.
Kirsty Hunter is the designer. Also hailing from Glasgow, Kirsty is a multi-disciplined uber talent of indie comics, working as a letterer, designer, artist and editor for the likes of We Shall Fight Until We Win, The Violet Sea and Smithers & Wing.
Cover artist and colours come courtesy of Buğra Batuhan Berah, a comic book and cover artist based in Istanbul.
Formidable and extensive list of creators introduced, it's time for a review. If you're new to the series, check out our review of issue one here. Be warned, as this one's for horror fans. I'll keep this one spoiler-free. However, the imminent Kickstarter offers a great opportunity to get the whole story, but more on that later.
So, let's start with the art. Daniel Coloma has an awesome, understated, and subtle style that's totally engrossing. It's art with a cognitive dissonance inducing qualities being minimalist yet richly detailed in storytelling power. A very heady mixture. I think it's calculated conservatism for ultimate clarity and impact. Full of subtly unique qualities. This is extremely well-rounded art with particular strength in character work, even more so in the supernatural elements.
The character depictions carry a weighty emotional value that superbly complements the narrative and helps deliver this one as it develops. This particularly strong foundation is built on wonderfully by Buğra Batuhan Berah's colour work. It's great, vivid work complemented by a gritty wash to keep things on the seedier side and the horror current bubbling underneath. Buğra's cover work is really excellent as well, with some beautiful pop art qualities. Special praise for the design for Kirsty Hunter, as the overall look of this one is completely fab; the extra nice touch of the "Homicide Report" title page is very clever.
Finally, for art, it's another perfectly solid performance of lettering duties from Rob Jones. The consummate professional keeps things clear and stylish while leaving room for the sequential to shine. Art adored how about some spoiler-sparing story.
Gary Chudleigh continues to make Every Last One stand out as a unique blend of supernatural horror and crime thriller. The mystery at its core of murder, orphans, murders and powers of persuasion is copiously compelling. Gary has stockpiled this one with intrigue of the highest order; the drip feed of reveals for the interconnectedness and motives is pitch-perfect, made more interesting by breakneck speed pacing. With only three issues to deliver, this one does not hold back with its plot or subject matter, particularly the gruesome side, but it's something I really appreciate.
The continued sprinkles of wit adds a nice touch of levity amongst the darkness. The who and why of this one has the makings of something magnificent if issue three even partly lands the promises of the first two's set-up. This one's so well done with the added bonus of keeping things so close to its chest. What happens next is anyone's guess. One thing that does feel certain is that this one will have an overdose of reveals and an absolutely ridiculous pace to be able to manage it. It really feels unfathomable to think how this could bring it all to an end with just one more issue. With any luck, it will be just the end of an arc, although that is probably wishful thinking. It's not unreasonable that this one will come to a satisfactory conclusion. This one is just promising a lot, and I'm vibrating with excitement waiting for it.
Italic interruption intersecting introspection of intellectual property. Please buy the book it deserves continued success. Please support us here on the Ko-fi because you know stuff costs stuff. Cheers all the same loves.
For fans of horror, crime, the supernatural, mystery, thrillers, orphans targeting serial killers with the ultimate powers of persuasion, where the lines between victim and murderer are blurrier than vaseline-covered glasses with lenses made of fog, metalheads, scar-faced detectives, Glasgow and beautiful art with a subtle flair, get hands on and persuade yourself to back this one.
To get your copy, the best thing to do is sign up for the pre-launch of the complete collection on Kickstarter here. It's sure to feature a host of amazing rewards for fans old and new, including all the standard options for the media of your choice. What an exciting time.
Review: 4.6/5.
