Writer and Creator A.C. Medina
Artist Kevin Shah
Colorist Ross A. Campbell
Cover Jean-Francois Beulieu
Letterer Micah Myers
Editor Ricardo Sosa
I want to start my review by saying that Elasticator is a fresh new take on the superhero format but saying that wouldn’t be altogether true. There are hints to the main character Mikey Mazzagatti having some sort of superpowers; his name hints to having elastic type powers, he has a uniform that looks pretty awesome, and a panel in the beginning shows him getting ready to throw a punch with what looks like an elastically extended arm. All of those little subtle things point to him having the elastic superpower but almost none of the story itself has anything that alludes to possible powers. I like this fact a lot. Medina doesn’t lean on superpowers to tell the story and doesn’t drench the storyline with origin of powers, he leans on origins of the person that Mikey is instead. Medina sticks to a true story with a more than real feel that makes me sympathize with Mikey and what he has gone through. Medina starts off the story with some seriously real circumstance and comes back around with a flashback that fills in part of the gaps up to the point of the beginning. Clearly laid out and well executed storyline, that in my opinion, is what every good book comic or literary book should be like.
Being the creator and writer Medina made the smartest move of all and went with an artist team that really ran with the story. Shah and Campbell have two styles that feed from one another and are very complimentary to each other. Campbell’s use of colors really help to bring Shah’s gritty look to life and Campbell’s use of shadowing is a prime example of that. Little panels with just the right shadowing are made to really accentuate the ideas behind the darker and gloomier scenes. I feel like Campbell and Shah’s style is perfect for the story and could be put up against any popular artist out right now.
A lot of times letterers get the shaft and people forget to credit them, especially when the art and story are so great. I refuse to overlook amazing lettering skills like that of Myers. All of the action lettering is so fantastic that it becomes the cherry on top of the art pie that Shah and Campbell baked. These things might seem little until noticed but once noticed it’s hard to imagine without. Of course there are stellar captions and perfectly formed dialog balloons that shouldn’t be overlooked either. The way the captions assist with the story is essential and Myers’s placement is always perfect, same with the dialog balloons. I truly believe Myers is one of the best in the indie game.
I thoroughly enjoyed issue one and I’m probably going to put the next few on my pull list. If you feel like you want to give Elasticator a go you can catch the first two issues on the Scout Comics website. if you wanted to be first in line you can pre-order issue three then you can do that as well. Comic book shops can order through Diamond Distributing and I would highly encourage them to do so!
