Masks #1 Review

Written by Danny Warner
Art by Matias Zeballos

I recently did a Kickstarter preview for Masks and much to my pleasure the Kickstarter was successful. Warner and Zeballos have kicked off something that I believe can take off and become something that is iconic in the way of post apocalyptic fiction. Not only is the book professionally done but they have partnered with a publisher that knows how to push their properties in the right spaces and they stop at nothing to see their creative teams succeed. From the art team to the publisher, Masks is an all around successful collaboration, and I’m more than happy with end product in issue one.

As I mentioned this is a post apocalyptic story where the world is divided into people that wear masks and people that don’t. The idea is fairly simple but it lends itself to a rich history and from a storytelling perspective Warner hits all the right notes from beginning to end. The story starts off simple enough, with a Bookkeeper roaming into a little town in search of a book, but Warner takes his time with the characters and the story and delivers what in his own words is “a slow burn” of a story. I struggle with calling this a slow burn however, because even though the is taking it’s time to develop it remained interesting and engaging from start to finish. Again, I struggle saying slow burn because it was so gripping, even though it was longer than an average comic book it felt like it was over right after I started, and it left me wanting issue two right now! This is the sort of story that I can see myself binging on like a Netflix series of comic books. Warner delivers on every level and I’m seriously impressed with his first effort, the style of writing and world building skills he possesses are second to none, be it comics or novel this story needs to be told and I need to read it.

Zeballos is a gifted artist. I’m not sure what else to say about his style, he’s simply gifted. All of his panel layouts and character designs are flawless and even when there are places he could get lazy and retread on something he adds a fresh angle or fresh look at the character. I assume that since he is the only artist listed that he does the lettering as well and I have to say that the lettering is something that adds to the feel of the book, particularly the captions. The captions look like pieces of paper from a book and add to the feel of the bookkeeper as a character. All of these little things that Zeballos does make this book a work of art and he does the job of at least three or more artists all in one. He does all of the art; pencils, inks, and colors, as well as the lettering, as if just one of these jobs isn’t enough. I feel like Warner hit a homerun with Zeballos because even though it’s Warner’s idea Zeballos has made it his own. I feel like Zeballos makes this book exciting with his panel layout and between the two of them the character development is simply amazing.

Masks can be found at Rats and Crows Publishing website or their Facebook page for pre order in October before the full release in November and you can follow Masks on Facebook for more details.