Serial #6

Serial #6

Abstract Studio 2021

By Terry Moore

Jenny wakes up in a bloody room with a dead man and no recollection of what happened. Her hasty solution catches the eye of a grateful witness. Meanwhile, Zoe's detective skills help her find the killer's car on Google Maps.

Hands down this is one of those series that is not only incredibly powerful and poignantly written but it’s just hellaciously well illustrated. Terry has a way of writing this that takes such a heady subject, serial killers, and turns it into something that we can read, oddly enough relate to and get thoroughly lost in what is happening within these pages. The way that we see the events in this book unfold before our eyes catches you off guard and captivates the reader in some absolutely beautiful ways. Also that we see Zoe doing something that I wasn’t expecting to see at all takes her in a direction that is utterly phenomenal and unusual in so many other ways. I’m thrilled with this series and that should come as no surprise after all every series that Terry has done thus far has been a masterpiece in its own particular way.

I love, love, love 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 perfectly presented. The character development that we see through the dialogue, character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter is magnificently told. That we see so much of their personalities coming to life before us is marvellous and it really helps us like these characters all the more. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we’re pulled deeper and deeper into this murderous mystery.

I greatly appreciate the way that we see this being structured as well as how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. It is within these layers where we see the characterisation, plot twists and the unexpected turns that the story takes. All of this adds so much delicious depth, dimension 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.

By now you all know I am a huge admirer of anyone who can write and illustrate their own stories and Terry is among the best there is when it comes to this. That he works in black & white with shades of gray tones and it looks this dang good makes me completely in awe and totally jealous of his talent. The linework we see is exquisite and how the varying weights and techniques are being utilised to create this level & quality of the detail work that we see throughout the book is mindbogglingly brilliant to behold. How we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance and expand the moments as well as 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 story is stupendous. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masters eye for storytelling.

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If you aren’t reading this then you are doing yourself a huge disservice because when it comes to sheer brilliant storytelling Terry Moore is a master of it. What this man can do with his given talent, skill and sheer chutzpah creates one of today’s most brilliant books that you could possibly be reading. The writing is genius, the characterisation is intelligent and witty and the interiors are just brilliantly rendered. All of this and so much more, the intangibles, conspire to showcase what great storytelling can be like.