Rise of the Djinn #1
Zenescope Entertainment 2021
Written by Kevin Grevioux
Illustrated by Elmo Bondoc
Coloured by Jorge Cortes
Lettered by Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios
Things couldn't be worse for Tamara Brazile. A highly decorated and venerable police detective with almost fifteen years of experience on the job, her world comes crashing down around her when her husband is murdered at the hands of a serial killer she had been pursuing. And to make matters worse, she is diagnosed with Stage IV for breast cancer before she has a chance to bring the killer to justice. But as fate would have it, she is given a second chance at life when she discovers that she is a descendant of an ancient race of DJINN (genies), with the power to cure herself and others. However, there is a catch: She can only keep the power so long as she aids a pair of evil djinn bring an ancient djinn named Arghan back to life to aid them in a coming war amongst the other djinn of the world. A war which could usher in an age of misery and strife for mankind.
I am a 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 extremely 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 brings their baseline personalities to the forefront. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story the more we want to see and learn.
I really like how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story begin to emerge and grow. The layers open up avenues to be explored and some are beginning to be and some aren’t but they all manage to add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. I have to say that the way the sequence of events unfold as Tamara’s resolve and anger are almost legendary as we, the readers’, find ways to empathise and care about her. The way that everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably achieved.
The interiors here are really sharp. The linework has a nice style to it and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the level of detail within the work that we see is exceptionally well rendered. How we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance and expand the moments as well as how we see them work within the composition of the panels bring out this great depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The creativity and imagination that we see on display is really rather quite nice and the depiction of the warring factions of Djinn really make them seem fearsome. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a beautiful eye for how colour works.
The whole idea here is great and I’m really enjoying the way that this is being executed. In her line of work and how this plays into learning about a new life that she’s meant to lead and all the mishegas that ensues is really spectacularly rendered. There is something about this that feels like it’s only going to happen in a place like New York City where folks can find themselves easily lost in the thongs of those that live there. This is incredibly well written with some fierce characterisation and some classic comic book style interiors bringing it all to life.
About the Creator
Steven Leitman
Just me talking about the comics I enjoy reading, ones that you might not know exist and spotlighting the indie creators that excite me.
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