Bermuda #2

Bermuda #2

IDW Publishing 2021

Written & Lettered by John Layman

Illustrated by Nick Bradshaw

Coloured by Len O’Grady

Bermuda’s no fool. She knows better than to take on the Mers, the savage aquatic race of slavers who terrorize all who wash up on the mysterious island of Trangle. But recent arrival Bobby Randolph is determined to save his missing sister, so he goes looking for help in the one place he absolutely should not—Piratetown!

This is what happens when you cross the legend of the Bermuda Triangle with Peter Pan, not that the residents don’t age because they do, it's more the situation of being isolated without any way off the Island and back to the world of man. Instead of a crocodile there’s these Mers who seem to be magic using mer-men who are feared for being nasty pieces of work. With the indigineous population, giant iguanas and such, the Island has been cut off from the rest of the world. They've evolved much differently and that adds another element of awe, wonder and terror to what we see. I will add that the city we finally see of those survivors who weren’t abducted by the Mers and how it is constructed and we get to see Nick unleash his creativity and imagination loose in some absolutely incredibly wondrous ways.

I’m a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold and how the reader learns information is presented exceedingly well. The character development we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter continue to bring out their ever evolving personalities. The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story, more of the island's inhabitants as well as the lay of the land we’re transported to this amazing destination.

I find myself greatly appreciating the way that this is being structured as well as how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. The amount of depth, dimension and complexity that is added from these layers and the avenues they explore is insurmountable to how you enjoy the story. The way we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably achieved.

The interiors here are abso-bloody-lutely amazing to see. The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality in all the detail work that we see is mindbogglingly brilliant. The creativity and imagination in creating the backgrounds and how they enhance and expand the moments is phenomenally well rendered. How they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the book is marvellous. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is equally as brilliant to see. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows this amazing eye for colour and knowing how it works and what combinations have the most impact.

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There is this childlike naivete that is blended with this no holds barred unapologetic cautionary tale that shouldn ‘t work this well together and yet here we are. If you are expecting to see something a lot more childlike, Nay Nay, this is going to be as far from that as possible as this is a decidedly adult read. With some incredibly strong and interesting writing & characterisation that is wrapped up in these breathtaking interiors and what you get is this simply stunning display of storytelling.