Serial #5

Serial #5

Abstract Studios 2021

By Terry Moore

Jenny strikes up a conversation with a man at a hotel bar who finds her vaguely familiar somehow. Will he remember in time? Meanwhile Zoe's discovery of a family struggling to survive moves her to tears and a solemn vow.

The more I see of this series the more I want to see and the more disturbing the story becomes. I love being kept in the dark about what is going to happen in a book and this one while we know something will happen, what with Jenny getting all dolled up and being at a bar, we just aren’t sure exactly what that’s going to be or how it’s going to happen. Terry has such talent and skill when it comes to crafting a story and getting the reader to become so invested and engaged in what is happening. Sure that’s not groundbreaking but few are able to do this on a level this strongly or this quickly as Terry manages to do. As if the whole Jenny arc weren’t enough we’ve also got Zoe who has gone and taken care of this guy who was following her into the woods, the poor sod didn’t know what he was in for. Both arcs running simultaneously generate so much interest and intrigue it is hard to put the book down even after you’ve finished reading it.

I am in love with 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 we see through the dialogue, the character interaction and how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter continues to flesh them out as people beautifully. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story we’re pulled deeper and deeper into the mouth of madness.

I appreciate how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, evolve and strengthen. The layers contain the characterisation and plot twists and turns as well as new moments that unexpectedly arrive and whether they work with the main arc or simply swirl around it they add this depth and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is perfectly achieved.

The interiors continue to be mindbogglingly brilliant to behold. The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality of detail work is truly astounding. That we see backgrounds being utilised as much as we do and how they enhance the moments and 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 story is magnificent to see. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a brilliant masters eye for storytelling. The black & white medium, with shades of gray, is unforgiving and yet Terry is so good at what he does you’ll never see a moment that doesn’t look like it perfectly belongs. I cannot get over just how good this linework is and the way it can create the tone, mood and feel of the story.

There are very few folks in comics that are have this level of talent, skill, creativity and imagination that are able to do their own book from top to bottom. From me Terry gets the utmost respect for what he does and can do and the fact that a book about serial killers is one that I genuinely look forward to each and every month should tell you all you need to know about it. This is so insanely well written and illustrated that it almost feels like it should be a special on A&E or the History Channel.