Written by: Ray Burton
Art by: John Bivens
Publisher: Image
Dark Engine, the first comic from the creative trio of writer Ryan Burton, artist John Bivens, and letterist Crank. At the very least, it provides some great entertainment, and based on this issue alone, Dark Engine is definitely a series that I will return to for its second issue, and likely even beyond that. Like many of the new books coming out of Image, it has a really cool concept that simply would not be tolerated at one of the big two, or even at bigger publishers like IDW or Dark Horse. Like, for example, the female embodiment of violence being sent back to the Stone Age to prevent the apocalypse, which has already happened in the future. Yes, the plot is fairly thin at this point.
But let’s put that into perspective. In the first issue of The Walking Dead, which, like it or not, is the most widely known, best selling Image book, the plot is paper thin. Essentially, a dude wakes up and there are zombies. Great. So, even though Dark Engine essentially consists of an extremely violent female character being sent back in time to fight dinosaur people and stop the apocalypse (and I think there’s a dragon in there too), that’s fine. Dark Engine is the meshing of all kinds of features typical to science fiction and fantasy, finding a perfect equilibrium between the two genres, while injecting its own touch at the same time.
The same could also be said of the art. John Bivens’ art in this book is stellar. Different, yes, but very expressive, and at times, more effective at conveying the story that Ryan Burton’s writing. In fact, in his letter to the audience in the back of the book, Burton goes so far as to say that he actually limited the amount of writing so that he could get out of the way of Bivens’ work. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, as the art is great to look at it and definitely is not something that should be taking a backseat, but at the same time, this book does feel devoid of a lot of written work that could have benefited it. But really, Burton puts it best himself, when he writes “Everyone will agree that it’s best to leave that type artistry alone. Let it breathe, let it do it’s thing.”
In addition to being effective at telling the story, the art also flat out looks good. It’s a mix of a lot of styles; influences from artists like JH Williams, Chris Samnee, and even Greg Capullo are undoubtedly there. But Bivens’ adds a unique flair to it, differentiating his own style from those of his influences. I mean, what he’s drawing is also fairly unique – and wholly inappropriate for young readers. That’s fine, of course, and Dark Engine does all of that without it ever feeling gratuitous or unnecessary. There’s a lot of violence – at one point a hippo’s head flat out explodes – but it doesn’t feel like there’s violence for violence’s sake. Even the protagonist’s perpetual nudity (except for a dinosaur skull) isn’t over done. It’s not overly sexualized, it’s just an element of the book. Rather, it’s actually added to give characterization to the book’s protagonist.
It’s mentioned by The Alchemist that she is the embodiment of murder, and so the raw violence and anger portrayed by the art is essential to establishing the character without a single line of dialogue. Of course, Burton runs the risk of making her into a one note character. However, this issue seems like its only intention is to lay the groundwork for the future, not to fully establish the characters, setting, or plot. A lot of this is left to the readers’ imagination, and, quite frankly, that’s fine.
If you’re looking for something less long-winded; Dark Engine is a very good comic book, for the art alone. At this point, after only one issue, I have no doubt that Bivens is going to be a hot name on the scene, and being in on the ground floor is going to be awesome. The same is true of Burton; though he doesn’t really get his chance to shine here, seemingly by his own choice. What writing there is is definitely fine, however, seeing more will definitely allow a more solidified opinion on it. I’ll definitely be back for the next issue, and I highly recommend that you check out Dark Engine.
Note: For more discussion and opinions on Dark Engine #1, be sure to check out the latest episode of We the Nerdy’s Comics Dash podcast.
