Review: Every Last One #1
If the idea of a mini-series comic about the hunt for a supernatural serial killer in a Gothan-like city of Glasgow gets your interest, then you absolutely have to check out Every Last One by Gary Chudleigh and Dani Coloma. It was successfully funded on Kickstarter last year, and the second issue is now being funded.
Every Last One follows Inspector Ronnie Lang, a former street thug turned officer of the law who is out of his depth investigating a series of supernatural murders. Ronnie is nervous but determined to find the potential killer who is stalking orphans to kill. Meanwhile, Kay Anderson is a young orphan who can read people's minds and control their actions and is struggling to get by. Eventually, she'll team up with Ronnie (as per the series description), but for now, we will start learning how their respective paths will cross.
Starting with the art by Dani Coloma, we're treated to a distinctive art style that often features vibrant colours and dynamic compositions. There's a big focus on making the art expressive and emotionally evocative, with a strong emphasis on character emotions and interactions. Most of the linework is thin, but there are the occasional bold lines and some deep shading to create depth and movement in his illustrations. It's a lovely style where sometimes the heads seem a little too big, which draws the focus to the facial expressions and adds a nice little stylistic touch to the characters.
The letters by Rob Jones are excellent, as always. Rob never disappoints and produces a clean style that suits Dani's artwork. There's a slight change for the textboxes that list the day/location, which isn't drastic, and you only notice it really with the odd letter being a different style than the usual speech bubbles. Rob is one of the best, though, and you can pick up the tone and emphasis on words easily, showing why having a good letterer is essential.
As for the story by Gary Chudleigh, we're thrown straight into the action with Ronnie at the scene of a murder where things are clearly not all they seem. The action is nicely blended with wit and humour, with quirky character flaws on full display, adding complexity and a little depth to our main cast. Exploring the theme of mind control adds a dark element to the story, with characters acting against their will, sometimes a little harmlessly, but it's also used darkly where people are taken advantage of or simply forced to kill themselves. It's something that'll be interesting to explore further as the series expands, especially when Kay has to go against the killer.
Every Last One stands out as a unique blend of supernatural horror and crime thriller, enriched by Gary's character dynamics and Dani's distinctive art style. With issue 2 currently being funded on Kickstarter, this series is almost two-thirds through, and once you read this, you'll know you need to read issue two. There are some intriguing concepts at play, and there are many answers that need to be given. I think my only disappointment is that it's a three-part series instead of four, as I know I'm going to want slightly more of what is going on. If you're new to this series, then you can get issue one at the same time as backing issue two - and I highly recommend that you do so!
Rating: 4.5/5
