The Author Immortal #1 // Review
1953. London. There’s a gentleman stting alone writing with a quill and ink. In 1953. So maybe he’s a being a little overly dramatic, but it gets worse. Because he’s writing a letter to his daughter. Her soul has gone. He’s writing the letter to a daughter who has lost her soul. Then he stabs a blade into his heart. His life is at an end, but this is only the beginning for The Author Immortal #1. Writer Frank J. Barbiere and artist Morgan Beem open a whole new supernatural drama that gaters qite a bit of momentum by the end of the first issue.
It’s not J.K. Rowling, but...it’s J.K. Rowling. An author is given an opportunity to meet with her. His own writing never really got him anywhere substantial. He’s a college professor, which pays the bills, but he’s never really had great success. Now a major fantsy author with disgusting political views is offering him over $1 million to co-author a book with her. She doesn’t exaclty give him an opportunity to turn her down, but he doesn’t exactly turn her down either. Now things are more than a bit confusing for everyone involved.
Barbiere seems very patient in executing the opening chapter of a story that swiftly moves a fantastic horror direction very quickly. Yes, it is, it's a bit of a strange adventure based on struggling author’s fantasy. Some of what is being delivered feels very familiar. Almost even divisible. However, it certainly feels like it's moving in a direction that is compelling. The overall field of the drama takes a while to get going. Relations between a struggling author of father and his teen daughter seem interesting enough. The mystery of the home of the late author from 1953 feels like an interesting early echo of the contemporary conflict of the series.
There's a clever moodiness about the art. Beem’s sketchiness has a classy feel about it. The architectural renderings in the background feels suitably, ominous. Above all, but the central author and his uneasiness and listlessness are well present on the page without being too terribly exaggerated. His daughter comes across as a very interesting person as well. Her body language is rather interesting to read. There's a definite sense of restlessness about her as well. The central dynamic between the father and daughter seems interesting enough as it is present visually on the page.
Honestly...on the surface, it doesn’t seem to be moving a direction that might not necessarily be all that interesting. There are so many elements in the plot which seemed disconcertingly cliché. That being said, the central drama of the author in question conjures echoes of certain themes about the nature of storytelling. Overall, there's a potential for something very deeply resident that could emerge from the premise that the creative team have put together for the first chapter. It will remain to be seen whether or not the serious level is up to its potential. As it is, the characters seem interesting enough to warrant a look at the second issue.
