Primordial #2

Primordial #2

Image Comics 2021

Written by Jeff Lemire

Illustrated by Andrea orrentino

Coloured by Dave Stewart

Lettered by Steve Wands

As Laika’s mission strays far from the launch plan, the origins of her involvement are illuminated. Back on Earth, Dr. Pembrook attempts to uncover the truth in West Berlin.

Aww Laika is the cutest lil puppy and I feel horrible that she was sent into space by herself. I know that the USSR, okay every country, sent animals into space before manned flights and it makes me sad to think mankind and its hubris in thinking only human life matters in this situation. Well it is what it is. What this series does on such a deep inherent level it takes the reader off page and makes them examine what they know, look up what they don’t and become engaged at such a level that will surprise you. It certainly surprised me when I started to google what animals went into space and when not to mention by whom. All because of the very nature of this story thus far. I do like what we see of human nature in here as well when it comes to Yelena, Laika’s caretaker, and what she is doing now that her charge is in space.

I’m such a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in bringing us who they are and to do this with a dog is pretty effin astonishing. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story we’re left wondering what the heck is going on.

I’m pretty impressed with the way that we see this being structured as well as how the layers continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. These layers open up new avenues to be explored and whether that’s with Laika or with Yelena and the Doc who now find themselves in East Berlin the depth, dimension and complexity added to the story is superb. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is exceedingly well achieved.

I am full on in love with the interiors here. The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality of detail within the work is mindbogglingly brilliant to see. The creativity and imagination that we see throughout this book is astonishing to me and the geometric shapes being utilised to this degree is stunning work. How we see the composition within the panels being utilised to create the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope of the story is magnificent. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a brilliant eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show such a great understanding of how colour works.

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I’m not really sure what this is going to turn into but whatever it does turn into i’m already on the hook to follow this along. I’m super intrigued to know and see where this is going because in all honesty when I have no clue as to the true nature of the story I've seen more than enough to know that these creators are not going to disappoint. There is the beginning of something that feels like it could be epic. Who knows, all I know is that I want to see more and I want to see it now.