Co-Created by Brian Barr and Chuck Amadori
Written by Brian Barr
Art by Marcelo Salaza
Color by Geraldo Filho
For Isle Squared Comics
DISCLAIMER* Brian Barr is now a writer and reviewer here at Comicbooked and I consider him a friend, however, this revelation does not dismiss the fact that I have already reviewed issues 1 to 5 before Barr became my friend and fellow Comicbooked writer. I have been enjoying Barr’s comic book since before we became friends and my opinion expressed in this review is consistent and similar to the views expressed in my first review.
When I last left off with Empress it was issue five and it was just getting good with the backstory and history of the Empress, Zia. I feel Zia is a unique character because she is a strong female lead that is set in the silent film era when women were still fighting for equality, or at least the level of equality women have today. Not only is it a bold move to do something set in a time like the silent film era the lore and mythology surrounding Zia is something different. I haven’t seen anything this compares to and the fresh fantasy take is an edge of the seat page turner. I feel like Barr has a good grasp on storytelling and watching the world of Empress shape up is certainly fun to see.
I’m sure at this point Salaza and Filho have a system together because they don’t miss a beat, every page looks great and flows nicely from one to the next. I love the way they use shadows to accentuate features and expressions with the characters, it really helps to bring out the 30’s feel as well. It isn’t just the old school 30’s feel either, there are flashbacks to a millennium before when the lore started and all of the older characters are really fun to see. The art is still consistent between timelines and the artist team still use shadows and keep the style from one era to the next while still allowing each style of the timeline to shine through. If I had to choose I think the 30’s feel is my favorite but as I said they both have qualities that make them unique.
I decided to revisit Empress because they just released issue seven; which is available on Comixology, Drive Thru Comics, Indy Planet, and Amazon Kindle. You can also check them out on Facebook, so go out and support some amazing indie comic creators!
